Delray Alliance
ALLIANCE OF DELRAY RESIDENTIAL ASSOCIATIONS
By Judy Goldberg
March & April 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.
Our PBC Mayor, Maria Sachs, will deliver our State of the Union Report with her usual flare! 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.