Weekly Newsflash 12-2-24

Mingle & Jingle is This Thursday - RSVP Today!

We are thrilled to invite you to celebrate 75 years of Highland Beach on Thursday, December 5^th! Below, you’ll find important details about the event.

Event Time: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Event Location: St. Lucy Catholic Church Parking Lot

Transportation:
To ensure a smooth experience for everyone, no public parking will be available. Instead, we will have four trolleys circulating to transport residents to and from the event. Each end of town will have one trolley that is handicap/wheelchair accessible and clearly marked with a sign in the windshield.  We would also encourage residents close by to walk, if you are able, to avoid any wait time.

Trolley Stops:
Signage will be posted at each trolley stop for easy identification on the west side of A1A.  Trolleys will begin picking up residents at 4:45 PM.

• North Side of Town:
  • Stop 1: 3600 South Ocean Boulevard
  • Stop 2: 3321 South Ocean Boulevard
  • Stop 3: 3100 South Ocean Boulevard
  • Stop 4: Delray Sands Resort, 2809 South Ocean Boulevard
  • Stop 5: Jamaica Manor
• South Side of Town:
  • Stop 1: Toscana Highland Beach
  • Stop 2: 3908 South Ocean Boulevard
  • Stop 3: Bel Lido Drive
  • Stop 4: Russell Drive
  • Stop 5: Grand Court
  • Stop 6: Boca Highland Beach Club and Marina

Special Thanks to St. Lucy Catholic Church

The Town would like to extend special and sincere thanks to Father Horgan and St. Lucy Catholic Church for hosting this event for the second year in a row! Without their generous hospitality, we would not be able to gather for this exciting night of community bonding and festivity.

Library Activities

Our Tuesday Night Movie on December 3^rd at 5:30 PM is The Holdovers. This Oscar-winning comedy stars Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly instructor at a New England school who remains on campus during Christmas break. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.

Yoga is back on Wednesdays at 4:30 PM! Highland Beach resident and certified yoga instructor Mallory Schwartz is offering a 60-minute yoga class adaptable to all ages and levels. Fee: $15 payable to the instructor. Bring your own mat.

SR-A1A RRR Project Update

The southbound lane of SR-A1A from 1708 S. Ocean Boulevard, Delray Beach, to 3320 S. Ocean Boulevard, Highland Beach, will have intermittent closures between 7 AM and 6 PM, Monday, Nov. 24^th, Tuesday, Nov. 25^th, and Monday, Dec. 2^nd through Friday, Dec. 6^th, to perform road widening activities. Flaggers will direct traffic as needed. Access to driveways and businesses will be maintained. The contractor will not be performing work over the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Message from the Mayor - Milani Park Update

Mayor Natasha Moore, Maggie Chappelear, and Laura Thurston participated in a meeting hosted by Commissioner Marci Woodward and Palm Beach County (PBC) staff to discuss Milani Park. Many kudos to Maggie Chappelear and Laura Thurston, who urged Marci to include a Highland Beach Commissioner in the meeting. There were 16 participants in the meeting, including 4 members of the architecture firm and several of PBC staff.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the architects who were selected by PBC to design the park and to provide the architects with stakeholder input on the design of the park. Brooks and Scarpa is the architecture firm that was selected by PBC. The lead architect is Jeffrey Huber. Here is a link to Jeffrey's bio. 

PBC staff encouraged a discussion of Highland Beach resident concerns and preferences regarding the park. The topics discussed were: reduced parking spots, excessive traffic, vagrants, stormwater drainage, dangers regarding Yamato Rock, environmental concerns emphasizing the importance of protecting the sea turtles, and aesthetics of the park (we don't want it to look like a parking lot).

The architects were extremely engaged and took notes on the discussion. Next steps are for the architects to start work on the design. We will be invited to another meeting early next year to preview and provide input on preliminary designs for the park. PBC is planning to have another public meeting for Highland Beach residents to preview designs for the park sometime in February or March 2025.

PBC stated that they intend to comply with the settlement agreement between PBC and Highland Beach, but PBC will address Highland Beach's concerns as much as possible. It was a positive meeting with a spirit of collaboration. Stay tuned for future updates!

Town Board Vacancies

Board of Adjustment & Appeals - One (1) vacancy for a three-year term.

Code Enforcement Board - One (1) vacancy for an unexpired term ending December 2024 and one (1) vacancy for an unexpired term ending May 2025.

For additional information, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office at (561) 278-4548 or email jdehart@highlandbeach.us (Jaclyn DeHart) or lgaskins@highlandbeach.us (Lanelda Gaskins), Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Watch Town Meetings

12/3/24 at 1:30 PM - Town Commission Meeting

Friendly reminder - You can always watch live and past meetings by visiting the Town's website and clicking the Watch Meetings button or by directly visiting the Town's YouTube channel!