Yes, another K Park entry.

What's going to happen now that Sunrise is no longer a part of the mix?

I don't know, but the current Village Council may not either.

Sunrise was going to be a vital and vibrant part of our community -- something many of our residents were in support of when it first came about. I, for one, am sorry to see this project go by the wayside.

But the vagaries of the today's current economy have consequences all up and down the nation ... reaching even more deeply into our community than before.

This event should be a sign, brighter than anything in Times Square, that dilivers a pretty emphatic message to the Village Council. Sung rather excitedly in the song by Ellen Foley: "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf -- "Stop right there! I gotta know right now! Before we go any further --!".

Meat sang back: "Let me sleep on it."

Perhaps, just perhaps, that is what the Village Council should do right now -- stop everything on K Park. EVERYTHING.

Yes the college, too. Put the kabash on everything and re-evaluate what is to be done with the land. Put a citizen's advisory panel together to explore the options with Staff's assistance. This piece of property is too valuable and now is not the time to squander valuable resources. And, yes, I would willingly volunteer to work on this.

By the way (BTW, for all you texters out there), there were some phenomenal artists on that Meatloaf album -- Todd Rundgren on guitar, Edgar Winter on saxophone, Max Weinberg on drums, Kasim Sultan on bass ... and, my favorite, Phil (Scooter) Rizzuto. But I digress, back on topic.

You know it really is too bad the prior Village Council did not seriously consider ALL the options presented to it last year. Maybe if it had, we would still have Sunrise (a good thing). Along with a few other enhancements to our Village lifestyle. Including cash from the sale.

Oh well, we can't cry over spilled milk. But we do need to learn the lesson so we don't repeat our past mistakes.

So Council ... what do you say? Let's halt everything at K Park and start over. Get a program in place that has the input of the residents and do what's best for the Village.

The value of the property can only go up from this point and that would be only one of the benefits to all the citizens of the Village.

Vision, people, vision.

> Discuss this entry

Oh, that lovely new road on Greenview Shores Blvd.! Nice and smooth. All the rough pavement is gone. No potholes. Turning lanes into neighborhoods. An access lane into Wellington High School. Wow, is this nice.

Except ... what's up with the speed limit? Are they kidding me ... 35? When the road was two lanes and had all that disjointed pavement and potholes and no turning lanes the speed limit was 45.

Why the reduction in the speed limit? And, no one can come up with a good one.

Look, South Shore Blvd has a 45 mph limit ... even through the construction zone. Wellington Trace is 45 mph right up to GVS Blvd. Guess what, GVS from Wellington Trace to Greenbriar Blvd is 45 mph. Big Blue is 45 mph. Forest Hill Blvd is 45 mph.

But this new stretch of road which is wider and safer has a lower speed limit.
Or are we looking for revenue enhancement via traffic violations? Sure seems that way since I see the Sheriff's office there everyday writing tickets every day I ride by.

Come on, Village Staff ... fix this sooner rather than later.

> Discuss this entry

You know that little ditty from "The Sound of Music", sung at the abbey just after the beginning. You know the one. It's called "Maria".

The nuns sing so nicely, "What are we going to do about Maria?" But in Wellington, it is "What are we going to do about K Park?"

So many options. So many choices. Let's see, a community college. A medical campus. A business park.Anything else out there? There is one commonality though ... they all want the land donated.

Which leads me to some other song lyrics. This time from Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". Those lyrics would be ... "Stop Right There."

What is the rush here? Why unravel years of work by Village Staff, the PRAB and Council when we got this land. Probably four years of work. Now, after just a few months in office the new Village Council wants to unravel this at warp speed? Why?

First, we should all get together and tell Council and Staff that there will be no support for a donation of this land. It is worth $300K to $500K an acre ... if they are so hellbent on getting rid of the land ... sell it. Especially in these times of economic difficulties the Village faces in the next few years. NO DONATIONS OF K PARK. To any organization. Including PBCC.

Second, if I were Sunrise Senior Living and land were donated for any reason ... I would be back in front of Council asking for my money back. After all, if they get it for free, why shouldn't they get it for free. Heck, at least they will be paying property taxes.

Third, in this time of increasing fuel costs, wouldn't it be nice to have an "employment center" in Wellington that would be office-based -- not retail-based (don't we have enough already?). People could live and work in the community ... supporting all those retail merchants and having a two or three mile commute and not a twelve or fifteen or more mile commute?

Fourth, we will need the park space. Trust me, after 10 years on the PRAB we will need it. That's why the Village went out and got it.

Fifth, oh, doesn't that proposal from earlier in the year that was completely disregarded by Council look pretty good now?

We need to tell the mayor that donating the land to anyone is not appropriate. No matter what anyone says. Then we need to tell each of the Council members.

We need to be vocal about it. Let's not let the Council make another decision that does not serve the interest of the community.

What do you think?

> Discuss this entry

This quote is from an English writer by the name of Steve Turner. You may ask, "why start with that quote?"

It is for a simple reason. This article.

Once upon a time, both recreation baseball and travel baseball were under the guidance of one sports provider. It did not work.

And putting them together now will not work. Let me share with you why it won't work.

In two simple words -- competing interests.

Recreation programs are primarily educational in nature. They are designed to give children the basics of the game and allows them to sample various athletic programs to find out which interests them the most.

Travel, sometimes referred to as competitive, teams are assembled to play against other teams from outside the local area.

And that's not all. Assuming there is a spot available, if your child signs up for recreational baseball, there is a "you pay, your child plays" standard.

Not so with travel teams. There are try-outs and only the best children are chosen for the teams. And there is no guarantee that you child will play in each game. That is just the nature of the beast.

Travel teams have higher costs than recreation teams. Higher enrollment fees and associated travel costs require a much higher commitment from children and parents in travel programs than in recreation programs.

Travel teams play almost year round. Recreation teams play 2 short seasons, roughly 2 months in the fall and 3, sometimes 4, months in the spring.

Those of you with short memories may recall what happened about 8 years ago when these two programs were run by one board. Conflict. Constant conflict that came to staff's attention and then to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board's attention.

In a compromise, to alleviate these conflicts, Debbie Brisson (then Parks & Rec Director) developed a plan that seemed to fit everyone's needs. It was fair and very structured on how the transition was to occur.

Frankly, it was a consensus between the two interests. To refresh your memory, a consensus is common ground where people can agree on most issues and can live with the decisions made on issues on which they do not agree. The fact of the matter is that it worked.

Occasionally, there were spats, but lovers (of the game) often have these. They were able to work things out and the two providers co-existed very well for years.

This brings a thought to mind. Actually a quote by George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."

Trust me on this, if the Village merges these two teams, both programs will be negatively affected. Yes, the recreation program will get sole access to the fields. The travel teams will be chased away. And the community will be worse off for it. In the end, the same old problems will rear their heads and the battle for separation of the two programs will begin anew.

Why has this come to the forefront you may ask.

All of this brouhaha revolves around a parent whose child did not make one of the travel teams and he raised enough stink about it to move it to this point. I have written on this before and will just say this is the squeaky wheel getting the grease.

The bottom line is this: the excuse of non-resident make-up of teams is being used as the scapegoat. I call bull on this. There is no requirement for Wellington residents to play in Wellington programs, so why should there be such a big issue over this. After all, if it is about money, non-residents pay more so the Village should be welcoming them with open arms.

What really cracked me up was this statement from the article: "With less money coming into the village after property tax reform, village staff said it was more efficient for parks and recreation staff to deal with only one governing body for baseball. The idea is that the staff member dealing with baseball could help with other duties."

Non-residents pay more, so that helps with economics. Besides, it is not the citizens' job to make staff's job easier. It is staff's job to make the programs available so the citizens can enjoy recreation in the Village.

The solution is easy if anyone really wants to solve this problem. Hire a program coordinator to run recreation baseball just like they do for soccer and bring baseball into the Village. Then let the travel provider run the competitive program. There's enough waste in the Village to find the funds to do this ... someone just has to stand up and say we can do it.

As I said earlier, merging the two programs is a mistake. This decision will alienate Village residents. Is this what we really want? Personally, I do not think so. That's not what local governments are supposed to do ... their job is to embrace the residents.

There are definitely some personal issues some folks have with travel baseball. And personal issues should be disregarded. After all the program is for the children of the Village ... not their parents. You all need to make sure the interests of the children are at the heart of the issue and nothing else.

This is a slippery slope for all of the travel providers. I hope Dr. Falzone and his organization keeps looking over their shoulder, because they are next.

There is a hidden agenda here and I will discuss that next week.

One final quote for your consideration from Karl Marx: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." I think we are past the tragedy part.

Share with me your thoughts and feelings on the issue.

> Discuss this entry

Yes, there is another proposal for the K Park site.

For the most part, I am not really opposed to the idea presented ... but the details have me a little concerned.

First for the big picture. A few folks have gathered and feel a college campus would be a good idea for the site. You know what? It's a pretty good one. I like the idea of having a satellite campus here in Welly World.

But which one?

Some folks say Palm Beach Community College. This would not be my first choice for several reasons. Primarily, the main campus is not that far away so the need might not be here.

I'm not sure PBCC has the cash to purchase the land. In fact, the schuttle butt is they want the Village to donate the land. I really do not see this as something being feasible. You see, the Utility Fund needs to be paid back the $6,000,000 it is owed from the original purchase. If the land is not sold, from where will this money come? I certainly hope the answer is not "the taxpayers."

Then I have to wonder how FAU would view this as they have held sessions here for the past several years. Heck, if I was Frank Brogan I would be on the phone to The Mayor and saying, "What are you thinking?"

We have this relationship with FAU and maybe they would be interested in open a branch here, just like they have one in Abacoa. And if they can do buy-outs for hundreds of thousands of dollars, I'm sure they could raise the cash to buy this last piece of property from the Village.

And how will this affect PBA right up 441? Adult education for now. But why shouldn't the village entertain offers from them?

The college idea is a good one. One I support completely. But not if we have to donate the land. This is the last large piece of land in the Village and the Village had the foresight to buy it years ago. Now is not the time to donate the land.

Sell to a college/university. Good idea. Donate it ... bad idea.

> Discuss this entry

Go out and vote today. Please. This is the run-off for the final council seat and it is really important.

After the brouhaha over the new mayor's comments -- we need to go out and make sure we get the right person in office.

As you may recall, the new mayor, Darrell Bowen, while campaigning, promised that the full re-payment from FEMA for the hurricanes a few years ago should be sent to the taxpayers that bore the burden. In fact he made a point of saying his word was as good as a guarantee.

During his first meeting he had to backtrack saying the Village should not return the funds to the taxpayers.

Now you can chalk this up to several things -- it was the usual politician seeking office making a promise he could not "guarantee" or he did not understand the issue or he made an honest mistake.

I don't know Mr. Bowen personally, but had the opportunity to deal with him on a business basis just once or twice. All I can tell you is that he was fair and honest in our dealings and, this being said, I tend to believe the last of the three options I noted above.

So, now this vote becomes critical. We all need to go out and vote. I feel Mr. Coates and Mrl Willhite will not make the same mistake. We need to make sure we hold their feet to the fire. The only way we can do this is to go out and vote.

So go out and vote on Tuesday the 25th. Please..

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Great news from this past weekend! And as a dad I am extremely happy to report this.

My daughter is on the Wellington travel cheerleading team called the Cougars. This past weekend they participated in a competitive cheerleading tournament and all three of the teams (Youth, Junior and Senior) did very well. Very well.

They took first place in each of their divisions! And the team was named the Grand Champion of the event. A first for the program.

While this is absolutely phenomenal news ... the best is yet to come. The Junior and Senior teams were extended an invitation to participate in the national championship in their age groups to be held in Virginia Beach in May.

Yes another of our local teams, sponsored through the Village of Wellington Leisure Services Department is making waves in the athletic world.

We should be proud of all of them ...

First, the young men and women that make up the teams. They have practiced hard since August to get where they are. Camps, practices, competitions. They gave their all and now it shows. A bid to participate in the national championship. Way to go kids! I am so proud of each and every one of you.

Second, the parents that support the kids. Thanks to all of you for getting them to practice and competitions. Thank you for paying the tuition each month. Thank you for helping all of these talented children bond and work together. You did great!

Third, to the coaches; Christina, Patti and Kathy. What a diverse group you have and how talented you are coaching them and bringing them to where they are today. I can not give you enough thanks. My admiration for what you have done is well deserved. You coached by gently prodding, encouragement and by being even-handed. No yelling or screaming ... just motivation for each and every child placed in your care. You are truly role models for these young folks and you should be proud of what you accomplished this year.

Fourth, to the Village Council and Staff. For not only making the program available and working an untried program into the system, but for supporting it as it grew and became more popular. I know it was a tough battle to fight some days, but thank you again for all of your support and help.

Finally, to all of you taxpayers out there that paid for the first class facilities we have to enjoy here in the Village. Without you, none of the successes the Village athletic programs would have been possible. Thank you so much.

Now to those of you driving around, keep a close eye out for a bunch of young ladies and men raising money to go to this competition ... help them out. Especially as there will be no "highway hold-ups".

Way to go Cougars!

> Discuss this entry

Today is election day in Wellington and 18 other communities in Palm Beach County.

It is our right and duty to vote and we need to make sure we exercise that right, especially these elections. Our actions today to vote or not to vote will have an impact on OUR community.

You might say that my vote doesn't count and you don't have time. You need to make time to go out and vote. Take your kids and teach them a great lesson on their repsonsibilities as a citizen.

Your vote does count. Not too awful long ago one of our Village Council elections was decided by 5 votes. So yes it is important.

And for whom to vote? That's a personal choice that carries a guarantee of secrecy.

But a few thoughts for you.

First, the next two years are going to bring many budget decisions that will be challenging to say the least. That being said, we need to retain our two incumbents, Mayor Tom Wenham and Councilman Carmine Priore.

Yes, I know it sounds like I support the good ole boys network, but that not true. I have known both of these gentlemen for many years. I have had many disagreements over the years with these two, but, you know what, we were always able to resolve them.

Personally, Mayor Wenham's demeanor on the council serves the community best as the steady hand on the wheel. It may appear that sometimes he sticks his finger up in the air to see which the way the wind blows, but isn't that what we really want? Someone that listens to us and takes the time to find out what we, as taxpayers, want. Then takes action on it.

Don't get me wrong, I like Mr. Bowen and his views and vision for the future. In a different time I would support him. But right now we need that steady hand, not the firm grip Mr. Bowen offers.

Councilman Priore and I have had disagreements about many things and have differences on which we may forever disagree, but I do respect this man. I don't know if any other councilperson is more prepared each every meeting than he is. Serving on Council takes a tremendous amount of time and the amount of time he dedicates to it still impresses me.

I met Mr. Christiansen several times and respect his point of view. We need him as that voice that continues to echo points that are important to all taxpayers. I trust he will continue to voice his concerns and be a vocal foil to the potential whims of the Council.

That leaves the final open seat on Council, one without an incumbent.

This was a hard choice for me. I really had things boiled down to two candidates, Howard Coates and Matt Willhite.

I think they are really close on their positions. Both are good choices. So which one?

As I mentioned earlier, I was torn. Then something happened on Saturday that made me choose. I was out washing the car when someone walked up to me and actually asked for my vote and gave me the reasons why I should vote for his candidate.

It didn't hurt I knew the guy that walked up to me, but I also respected the fact they came out and asked for my vote.

Now I don't think I have missed more than one or two elections in the past 15 years. I do go out and vote. You would think these candidates would look at that and come and ask me for their vote, as well as each and every one of my neighbors. It is not an ego thing.

Its a "I'm going to connect with the voters" thing. One of the biggest complaints has always been that the candidates never gets "into the trenches" and see voters one-on-one. And ask for their vote. Wow, what a concept. There is no big money there though. Just us lone voters.

That is what put him over the top. Matt, you have my vote since you asked. This is going to be the first step, I feel, to moving up to a county seat and even to the state legislature.

Good luck and God speed to all of you.

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Last week the Village Council approved the sale of about 5 acres of the proposed K-Park site to Sunrise Senior Living. In the end, this is a good decision for the Village and its residents.

We needed a senior living center for the past few years. We have seen this start and stop a few times and now it seems that things will finally get under way. And this is good.

Finally, families that grew up in Wellington can continue in to live in Wellington. This allows young families to continue to enjoy the love and support of their grandparents and parents.

We will be able to have that close knit family unit that so many of us grew up with before we moved to Florida. I know that having the ability to see my grandparents whenever I wanted was something that I cherished as I grew up and moved on with my life. In my opinion we really need to get back to this ... it really does bring more than we can ever expect and hope for as our parents age.

Now it is up to Sunrise Senior Living and the Village Staff to work out the process and get the process started and moving forward quickly. Not a fast track mind you, but working in combination to get a shovel in the ground by the end of the year and construction finished as reasonably as expected.

Kudos to the Village Council, Village Staff and Sunrise for focusing on getting this accomplished. Let's all make sure we pass on our support to them all.

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What really started me down this track was an event that happened very close to home. One of my neighbors had their car burglarized. And it got me to thinking what crime was really like here in the Village.

I don't know if you do it, but I find myself going to this map posted on the Sun-Sentinel a few times per month.

What I found was very interesting. Look at the number of crimes reported during the last four week period. Take a look at the map. Not very many incidents (just 19) over the past four weeks. Had to scratch my head as it didn't make sense to me.

I stumbled on this site on the internet this week and, well, I just had to make a few comments.

Looking at this link, you will find a chart that lists, from worst to best, the cities in Florida ranked for crime. The best was Marco Island and the worst was Opa-Locka. Where was Wellington?

Hanging in there at number 39. Whoa! The 39th best city in Florida ranked by crime? We can't be that high can we? Who was better than Wellington?

Niceville, right there at number 5 (maybe I could have guessed that one). Parkland at 12. North Palm Beach at 20 with it's neighbor, Palm Beach Gardens at 23. Wait a minute, Pt. Ste. Lucie is in at 19? You gotta be kidding me.

Who is a little worse? Vero Beach at 58; Jupiter at 55; Key West at 96; West Palm Beach at 132 and Orlando at 142.

Do these numbers surprise you? They do me. So I looked into a little further by clicking on the Wellington link.

Here's our crime rating:

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A 2.7? Worse than average? Why?

Let's look at this (from the website):

Wellington, Florida has a violent crime rate of 309 incidents per 100,000 people. This compares with a rate of 858 in Florida and a rate of 596 nationally. Lower numbers are better, indicating that fewer crimes happen per person in the population.

And,

Wellington, Florida has a property crime rate of 3415.3 incidents per 100,000 people. This compares with an average rate of 5098.0 in Florida and an average rate of 4296 incidents per 100,000 nationally. Lower numbers are better, indicating that fewer crimes happen per person in the population.

These two factors (for 2004) gave us our crime rating of 2.7.

Take a look at those numbers for a second. Using my math, there are 3,724 incidents per 100,000 people. Let's say there are 60,000 people in Wellington, doing the math, hmmmm, that computes out to 2,234 incidents. Divide that by 12 (that would be months in the year, a month being what the chart in the link points to) and you get 186 incidents.

Now I know that there has to be editing on that story, but why the huge difference in numbers? They show just 19 incidents in a month. Where are the rest? What are they? I don't know but it made me wonder about those numbers above and if they were accurate as reported for 2004.

So, what's next?

I have a call in to the Community Affairs office of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. I want to speak to one of crime statisticians about Wellington.

I have a few questions.

Such as, what percent of crime in Wellington is committed by Wellington residents? Do you track arrest records by address? If so, can you tell me the neighborhoods in which the perps live? Are there 50 addresses responsible for the bulk of the crime? Are there 25 addresses? Less than 10? Less than 5?

After all, the crime seems to be clustered into small groups. Why wouldn't the people responsible for the crimes have the same behavior?

I'm sort of curious. Aren't you?

I trust they will call back. If not, I'll call again. And we can find out what's going on with crime in the Village of Wellington.

Stay tuned ...

> Discuss this entry

Here is my original post for your review.

I think the Village Council made the right decision on this. I personally do not feel that we can find a better manager anywhere else.

Think about it this way for a second. Why would we get a manager from the outside?

Certainly fresh eyes in any situation are a great addition. But in times of budgetary issues taking front and center, those fresh eyes may go dull within a few months. Especially if there is no background in the issues facing Wellington.

We have unique needs in our community. Although many people outside of Wellington see us as a sleepy bedroom community, we are from that. We have a wide and diverse population that ranges from young families to seniors to empty nesters to our seasonal visitors. We have a variety of economic engines driving our community from the 441 corridor to shopping centers on Wellington Trace to the equestrian community. I really don't know how someone without experience in these areas could possibly step in and not be overwhelmed.

The Village of Wellington, probably just like any other town, has its share of groups trying to exert influence to have projects or plans move along a certain path. Without a clear understanding of where we have been and where we want to go, an outside manager would have a steep learning curve in these difficult tranisitional times.

With the selection of Mr. Schofield, we have none of these issues with which to deal. In fact, Mr. Schofield has a deep and thorough background in all of the issues the Village will be dealing with over the next several years.

This was, in my opinion, an excellent decision by the Council and one all of us will come to appreciate as the weeks, months and years go by.

> Discuss this entry

Maybe it’s my nature. Or perhaps it’s what’s happened in my professional life. Then again, maybe it’s because I’m naturally curious. But I have some questions on an issue that is floating around the Village these past few months.

Tom, what the heck are you talking about?

The whole issue of baseball, sports providers and this insane notion of non-residents playing on Village fields. So, what’s the brouhaha all about?

This story.

Before I get to share why this story really ticks me off and why it is inaccurate, let’s get to the basic facts.

This story is about travel baseball and the participation of non-residents in this Village approved program. Many of the sports played in Wellington have two separate and distinct programs – a recreation program and a competitive program.

What’s the difference you may ask?

It’s a simple one. Recreation programs have a “parents pay, children play” philosophy. Yep, in recreation sports, all participants get to play in each and every game. My understanding is that they get to play at least one-third of each game. Competitive programs have try-outs and there is no promise that if a child makes the team that he or she will play. The costs of participating in the competitive programs are higher than in recreation programs. So, normally, the desire to do well is exacerbated.

So, Tom, what exactly are you in a huff about?

Well, let’s get to the story.

A parent of a skilled young ball player has a gripe with the fact that he can’t participate in the Village of Wellington sanctioned league and has to go to Boynton Beach to play. In fact, he quite plainly states "We have all these nonresidents coming in and taking over our programs … They're taking our kids' spots, using our fields and knocking on Wellington doors for fundraisers."

No one took this child’s spot away except his father.

You see, the boy was 9 years old. But the father didn’t want him on the 9 year old team due to a personality conflict with the coach. So he had him try out for the 10 year old team. And he didn’t make it. My understanding is that this young man would have made the 9 year old team, but did not have the ability to make the 10 year old team. So, whose fault is it, really?

This argument had nothing to do with whether there are non-residents trying out, but was a personal choice made by a parent. It was his choice and now he doesn’t play on a Wellington sanctioned team and drives to Boynton Beach.

Doesn't this father's decision to have his child play in Boynton Beach strike anyone as the pot calling the kettle black? He couldn't get on a Wellington team, so he went to Boynton Beach and took a spot from a Boynton Beach child.

Well, you may say, was there any other alternative? In one word, yep.

If this father had an issue with the coach, why didn’t he approach the Board of Directors and ask for a second team to be formed?

Don’t know, maybe someone should ask him.

What about the January try-outs, you may ask? Nope, didn’t show up for those either, I understand. Don't know why he didn't show up.

Maybe someone should ask about that as well.

This was a personal choice that was made and had nothing to do with residents versus non-residents. And now a child has to pay the price.

But what about that percentage requirement of resident participation programs and the use of our facilities? This is a complicated question needs a little explanation.

Right now Wellington residents have the choice to play in a Wellington league or not, whether the program is a recreational or competitive. Many choose not to use the leagues made available through the Village and that is their choice. So be it.

The fact of the matter is the facilities in Wellington really have no equal in the county and teams are clamoring to play on them. If Wellington residents choose not to play on Village sanctioned teams, why should the Village deny anyone else that opportunity?

The real issue revolves around money. Specifically, taxpayer dollars.

The solution, it seems, is to ensure the non-residents of the Village pay their fair share of the expenses required to keep these facilities in the fantastic shape they are kept. The Leisure Services staff is preparing a study on how much of the resident tax liability is devoted to maintenance of these facilities. Then a fair fee can be designed to offset the fact non-residents do not pay taxes in the Village.

Trying to make each individual team at least 51% residents would virtually eliminate these programs in the Village. And the work required to manage this would be overwhelming. The staff does not have the personnel to micromanage the providers of competitive teams, nor should they be required to do so.

As to the percentage of Village residents playing in these programs right now, not one is below 51%. The lowest is 54%. And that’s OK by me.

In closing I lifted this quote out of the article: “Both sides accuse each other of the same thing — putting the game ahead of the kids.” Actually, at least in my opinion, that’s not accurate. Its parents putting their issues ahead of the children.

Let's call this what it is ... a parent did not get his way (note I did not say the child didn't get his way) and now wants to punish every other child in this program as well as every other competititve program the Village sponsors.

What, you think any change is going to be limited to travel baseball? Any changes to this program and policy will affect every team run by a sports provider ... soccer, softball, hockey, football, to name just a few.

Is this what we really want? I don't think so.

> Discuss this entry

I read in the paper this morning that the Sunrise Senior Living project may be dead in Wellington. It seems the negotiations have stumbled upon some obstacles in the requirements that the Village Staff is insisting on including in the sales documents.

Apparently the Village Staff is concerned about a property swap occurring between the property in Wellington and another piece of property in Broward County for Sunrise. Village Staff is insisting that if this occurs, the Village has the option to buy back the property at a discounted price. Naturally, the developer is balking at this.

Normally I would say no big deal, after all if the company was savvy enough to get this through the negotiations, then more power to them.

But this is different. A promise was made to the seniors of our community … an ALF to serve their needs. The staff is right in making sure this property swap would not happen. A promise was made and the Staff is right in making sure that promise is carried out for the benefit of Wellington residents.

What really put me over the edge of uncontrollable laughter is what brought this all about and why I can hear the voices in the background say, “See, I told you so. It's Erickson all over again.”

When the Village Council voted on accepting the proposal to negotiate for the sale of a portion of K-Park to Sunrise Senior Living, a second proposal was completely dismissed out of hand.

In hindsight, perhaps the Council should have given fair hearing to the second proposal … a Mizner Park/CityPlace style development that included a white collar employment center, an ALF, a cultural arts center and parks that would fulfill the anticipated needs of the community.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and this is no exception.

Perhaps, just perhaps, when Council has multiple proposals for something that will have an impact on the community, they should give each of the proposals a fair hearing and then make a decision.

The manner in which the decision was made to move forward with Sunrise reeked of a back room filled with tobacco smoke in some seedy building on a back alley in the Village. The decision seemed to be made before it even came up in the hearing.

It smacked of Boss Tweed, not the Village of Wellington.

Before you dismiss my thoughts here, let me say I support Sunrise Senior Living being in Wellington. I want an ALF here as much as any of our seniors. And Sunrise Senior Living seems to have a pretty good product.

I would hope that Sunrise Senior Living is serious about opening a facility here. But as they say, actions speak louder than words.

Let’s urge Sunrise to follow through on their promise. Comply with the Village Staff’s requirements.

As a taxpayer and resident of Wellington, I expect nothing less of Village Staff to stick to their guns and ensure this serves the best needs of the residents of Wellington.

Don’t back down and protect those of us that are looking to you to serve our interests.

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I read in the paper this past week that the PBSO wants to add a few more deputies to the Wellington sub-station. Of course this would add about $750,000 to the Village's budget. And in times of reducing tax revenues, could this be a burden?

I don't think so. Law and order is always a key issue for politicians and this one will cause more debate. But I support this increase in the Sheriff's budget for a few good reasons.

Maybe a short story will help you understand. A few weeks ago I was out for a morning walk and I saw not one or two Sheriff's cruisers driving around my development, but five of them. That's right, five.

I was stopped by one and was told there was a burglary in the neighborhood and they were searching for two suspects. The K-9 units lost the trail and they were looking for them. Unfortuantely, I didn't see anyone and couldn't help.

Then just the other day I saw a Sheriff pull up to one of my neighbor's homes and get out. What happened was eye-opening. Apparently someone walked into their garage and even attempted to enter the home. While they were there! Not good.

They had one or two things stolen and were filling out a police report.

Just some bored teenagers the deputy said. But still, just a little unnerving.

So, make sure you keep your garage doors closed and your doors locked, even when you are home. Keep your families safe. And don't present an easy target of opportunity.

One portion of this new budget is for traffic enforcement. And I have to say this is something we desperately need.

The utter disregard for traffic laws in Wellington is getting out of control. And, as adults, if we can not obey them, perhaps the Sheriff's office will help us.

As parents we are the primary role models for our kids. And they really pay attention to what we do. Especially when it comes to driving.

If you speed through the Village, expect your children to do so as well.

If you run red lights or roll through stop signs, expect your children to do so as well.

If you do not use your turn signals when you change lanes or make a turn, expect your children to do so as well.

If you tailgate and exhibit road rage, expect your children to do so as well.

We set the example and need to make sure we do. Now, I am not saying that I am perfect, but I try each and every day. It really is easy to obey traffic laws when a deputy is right behind you. The true test is making sure you do it when that deputy is not there.

And speaking of role models, our deputies need to make sure they obey the laws they are paid to enforce. This is probably my biggest pet peeve with law enforcement. Let me give you an example.

About two weeks ago I was driving in another municipality and saw something that really made me shake my head and reduced the respect I had for this particular officer.

I was sitting in one of the two left turn lanes (turn signal blazing away, btw) with a police car about six or so cars back. We had been through one signal cycle already and with the dump trucks ahead of us in both lanes (another pet peeve), it was doubtful we were going to get through on the next cycle as well.

So what does the police officer (not a Sheriff's Deputy) do? Pulls out into the leftmost through lane, pause, throw on his lights and siren, and then make the left turn. Uncalled for in my opinion.

Before you say, well he/she (I am not saying which) was probably on the way to a call. Doubtful, unless this municipality has changed its uniforms to wifebeaters and backwards baseball caps. Maybe we should just not allow our law enforcement officers to have take home cars to reduce or eliminate this temptation.

I'm not saying all deputies and police officers do this. As in most things in life, a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of us.

So, call the Council members and support the budget for the Sheriff's office. I think, in the end, we will all feel more secure.

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And now is the time to support it.

Yes, the Village Council made the decision to enter into negotiations to sell just over 5 acres on SR441 (the frontage of K-Park) to Sunrise. I wasn't a big fan of this project, but now is the time to support it.

Too often, when Council makes a decision, people tend to want to hold back the progress on getting things done. We can not let this happen to the Sunrise project.

An assisted living facility has been in need for quite some time in the Wellington area. Of this, there is no doubt.

Several years ago a company called Erickson attempted to buy the Lanier property for an ALF. They had no success. In hindsight, this was good as Erickson, to my knowledge, does not operate in Florida any longer.

Now we will have one of the final pieces in the completion of what Mayor Tom Wenham calls the "Wellington Way of Life."

Perhaps it will possible for three generations of families to all live in the same town once again. Regardless of age. An idea who's time has come, I think.

Sunrise needs to be commended for keeping up the battle to meet this need. I trust they will build a visually pleasing building, something that won't overpower 441, but complements it.

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Well, there it is. Sunrise Senior Living wants to buy just over 5 acres from the Village at the front of K-Park. This is fast tracked folks and I have some concerns.

I understand we need to have some affordable senior living facilities. But smack dab on prime real estate on SR 441?

Bad, bad, bad idea.

Do we really want an ALF on SR 441? Do the seniors? Any seniors you know excited about exiting onto SR 441 at any time of day? None of the ones I spoke to are.

Maybe we should ask, why SR 441? Well, it seems that Sunrise says it needs traffic visibility. What? Well, perhaps I should say, For what? I don't know about you, but I can't remember the last time I drove by and an ALF (on any road, let alone a busy road), smacked my forehead and said out loud, "Doh, I should stop by and get my parents in that facility!" I think any of us would put just a tad more thought into it.

After all, its not like saying, "Doh, let's stop and get ice cream!"

This won't be a small building, either. Is this something we want, esthetically, on SR 441? Five acres is a lot of land to have this on there.

And what a wonderful and relaxing view the seniors will have. I'm sure my mom and dad would love to look longingly out the window and gaze at the breath taking vista of SR 441.

But that wily Village Council. They are absolutely giddy at the $5,000,000 offer. This offer is about $200,000 per acre over the true value. So, why would Sunrise pay so much? They want to take it out of the public bidding process. After all, that's why Sunrise gave the Council a November 28th deadline to accept the deal.

If Council should accept this, we should be stand up and say "No". Why short circuit the system? Why not put it out to bid? Maybe someone will offer more. It's anyone's guess.

Believe it or not, I think it's a pity issue. Yep, they feel sorry for Sunrise after they voted to deny them to be part of the Hospitality Shoppes. This was the right decision, by the way.

So this is the solution? Because they feel sorry for them, give (I should say sell) them the last piece of primo real estate on SR 441? Without getting other bids on the property?

Oh, and the proceeds of the sale aren't going to reduce your property taxes. Nope, not one red cent. You see, the money to buy that property came from the Utilities Funds for water re-use purposes. And the park was being designed to make sure re-use was a big part of it.

So, once the Utilities Fund gets repaid (about $6,000,000), then they can use the money. And without frontage on SR 441, the remainder of the property is not worth nearly as much.

Do what's right for the citizens of this Village ... "Just say no" as Nancy Reagan once said,

But that would take some vision.

There are other, better places for this facility. I'll discuss these in the next few days.

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I was driving around Wellington the other day and I couldn't help notice the state of disrepair into which our medians and canals have fallen.

It seems the canals are getting clogged and look terrible. Just drive along Paddock between Big Blue and Greenview Shores and look at the canals. It looks like you can almost walk across the canal due to all the junk vegetation in the canal. That's not the only place.

Look at any of them. They are all starting to look like nature is taking back Wellington. Where is the Public Works Department and what are they doing about it?

Nothing, apparently. This was never the case before. Maybe we should call the Council on it, but I can already hear the excuse ... budget cuts won't allow us to clean them up.

It will cost less to clean them up now rather than waiting a few months, or years.

And the medians. What is going on here? I understand the one on Greenview Shores heading toward the high school. After all there is road widening going on. But what about the others?

Grass is getting higher. Landscaping needs trimmed. Replantings need to done. Yeah, the major roads, Forest Hill and Wellington Trace are ok but look at some of the others.

Barren in places. Dead trees. Landscaping looking like it's on the last legs of survival. Embarrassing for such a great community.

If you're on Paddock, be careful of that new round about and speed bump. I know the traffic needs to be slowed down here, but did you really have to camouflage that speed bump so well?

I was at the stop sign and watched people go over that speed bump. I swear their heads hit the roof of their cars. It looks like there are two levels and the way they have the road painted, you can't tell there are two levels.

I can't wait to see what changes are going to have to be made to fix this one!

Enough complaining for today. I trust each of you will have a Happy Thanksgiving.

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Sunday is Veterans Day. The Village is holding its annual ceremony at 9:00am and I encourage everyone to attend. This ceremony, along with Memorial Day, are the two that I am the most proud the Village of Wellington holds.

As a veteran and member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, this project was one I was especially passionate about. With the help of many people, to name just a few, Mayor Tom Wenham, Randy Phillips, Al Coe and former engineer Gary Clough, this park and its twice yearly celebrations became a reality.

Veterans Day is important to all of us. And we should celebrate the sacrifices that our veterans and their families have made in support of our way of life.

In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson summed up why we need this day commemorating our veterans:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."

Come and join the Village and enjoy the memories of all those who have served.

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Well, Halloween has come and gone and now we are staring into the holiday season. Where did this year go?

Thanksgiving is just three weeks from today. Just three weeks!

Christmas is less than eight weeks away.

It seems with each new holiday season the Village of Wellington has to cope with its "Holiday Display."

Oops! Did I just step in the annual brouhaha that is the "Holiday Display" in Wellington? Yes I did. On purpose too. You're probably thinking, "Dude, are you crazy?" When I first started this entry, I thought I was too. But let me explain.

Two things sent me down this path. First, my daughter asked me if we had to do the whole "Santa Claus" thing again this year. More on this later. Second, someone sent me an email that is credited to Ben Stein. You know, he's the guy from TV ("Win Ben Stein's Money"), was one of Richard Nixon's speechwriters, is the author of several books and a staunch supporter of the GOP (although he did give $2,000 to Al Franken's senate campaign, according to the AP).

Let's take a look at Ben Stein's comments in the context of this annual wringing of hands in the sleepy Village of Wellington. And let's hope we don''t make it back on Bill O'Reilly's show.

Here is the text of Ben's commentary.

Perhaps we, as a community, should embrace his thoughts. He doesn't feel threatened or discriminated against because a Christmas tree is displayed. Neither does he feel threatened by the display of a creche or a menorah. Maybe we shouldn't either.

He sums it up best by saying, "It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year." And this time of year gives us the opportunity, as a community, to treat each other as brothers and sisters. Let's hope the Village sees it the same way and continues with the "Holiday Display".

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I received a call one evening last week informing me that Village Manager Charlie Lynn is retiring in January.

Taken by surprise by this news, and after a few days of reflection, I come to find I'm saddened to hear this. I have known Charlie for quite a few years due to my involvement with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. In my experiences, he has always been a gentleman and worked to get the best for the Village.

He has been accused of many things. But one thing I don't think you can argue with is the fact that Charlie has always done what he thought best for the Village.

So now what does the Village do?

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