Delray Alliance
ALLIANCE OF DELRAY RESIDENTIAL ASSOCIATIONS
By Judy Goldberg
April – May 2024, Meeting Notes:
Welcome to April. Sending safe travels to our snowbirds as they head
north. You will be missed. Of course, Happy Easter and Happy Passover to
all who celebrate. I want to personally thank our wonderful Alliance
representatives: Jerry Carlin and Bonnie Sanger, who filled in for me as I
recover from knee surgery and contributed to the writing of this article.
The meeting, which took place at Morikami Gardens, was called to
order by the President of the Alliance, Dr Lori Vinikoor. Announcements
were made regarding upcoming events. Delray’s own Mayor Sachs will be
the keynote speaker at the April 3rd meeting which will be held back at the
Delray Civic Center. She will report on the state of the city. June 21st will be
the Alliance breakfast for all paid up members at the Glen Eagles Country
Club. July 3rd will be an in-person meeting also at the Civic Center, as
opposed to the usual summer Zoom meeting. This will be an opportunity to
meet the candidates who will be running for District Attorney and Judge.
The Elance Luxury Assisted Living Community of Boynton Beach was
thanked for providing the refreshments. It was announced that they have
lifelong learning classes that are FREE to the public. Contact them if
interested.
Captain Rob Sandt, of the Sheriff’s Department gave the monthly
crime report. He reported that year to date, the trends are moving in the
right direction: DOWN. However, they are seeing an increase in juveniles
being recruited from Broward and Miami/ Dade counties to break into
vehicles, especially Hondas, that are either unlocked or valuables are left in
clear viewing sight. Unfortunately, these juveniles cannot be chased if they
are on the move, as it becomes a hazard to the community. Citizens must
remain vigilant!! The trend is also headed down as far as traffic stops are
concerned. Only 300 have been made so far this year. According to the
data, automobile crashes are down by7% even though they are seeing an
increase of traffic on Atlantic Ave.
The next speaker was Chief Bill Stansbury of the Fire & Rescue
team. He announced that station 49, which is north of Atlantic Ave at Lyons
Rd, has improved response time by 4 minutes. There is also a new station
being built in the N. Boynton Beach area, which will also help with the over
3700 calls received.
Ms. Jennifer Cirillo, the new Director of Palm Beach Parks and
Recreation, was then introduced as the keynote speaker. She informed the
audience that the county has 110 parks which encompasses 8668 acres
throughout the county. She had exciting news regarding Morikami Gardens,
which is part of the parks department. Who knew? The head of the
Morikami complex reported that they are looking at designs to enlarge the
gardens, build an artisan village, enlarge the bonsai area, have
instructional classes and much more. The building of a Japanese inspired
inn where people can stay on premises, a new land bridge and an
expansion of the museum are also in the planning stages. Other current
upcoming projects which include but are not limited to; are increasing the
size of the Green Cay Nature Preserve, entering a partnership with the
rowing community on Lake Ida, and building 10 new pickleball courts and
dog park at Windsor Park. A county wide opinion poll was taken to get input
from the public regarding their concerns and priorities. Ms. Cirello also
talked about the idea of the building of a 10 acre, 120 spot RV Resort style
park in front of the West Delray Regional Park. This idea first needs to be
approved by the planning committee which is concerned about the sewer
and water system that would be installed. After receiving a grant, 1000
trees are being planted in the Glades area for natural shade. Further
information can be found online at the PBC parks and recreation website.
Meeting was adjourned at 10:20am and free entrance to the gardens
was enjoyed by the attendees. 11
Our PBC Mayor, Maria Sachs, will deliver our State of the Union
Report with her usual flare! Megan Houston, Director of the Office of
Resilience with a presentation on Climate Resilience in Palm Beach
County. The meeting will be held at the South County Civic Center, 16700
Jog Road, Delray Beach, across from The Morikami Gardens. Doors will
open at 9AM when refreshments are served. The meeting begins at
9:30AM and concludes by 11/:30. All are invited to attend. See you there!