The Boca Raton City Council will move forward with filling the vacant seat of former Councilmember Yvette Drucker after all.
At its Oct. 13 meeting, the council voted to not move forward with finding a replacement as Drucker ran for county clerk and comptroller. It’s now become a necessity to change course.
That’s because of Councilmember Jonathan Pearlman’s frequent, unexplained absences from city meetings. Since he took office in April, Pearlman has been absent for eight meetings, including regular council meetings, workshop meetings, and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meetings.
“I guess we need to address the elephant in the room,” Councilmember Stacy Sipple said at Monday’s workshop meeting. “If councilmember Pearlman is not going to be showing up for meetings, three people are not fair to the people of Boca Raton.” (sic)
Applications will remain open through Nov. 17 to fill the vacancy. After council review of applications and a public discussion, an appointment is tentatively planned for Nov. 24. An appointment must be made by three out of the four members of the council, whether Pearlman is present or not.
Pearlman’s political isolation
The Save Boca founder who won office on a populist wave of anti-development sentiment is becoming increasingly politically isolated.
On the city council, Pearlman has distanced himself from fellow Save Boca slate candidates Michelle Grau and Stacy Sipple; during discussions over the new police station, emails sent from Save Boca cast Pearlman as the lone vote against the $125 million police bond that will go before voters in March. Pearlman was absent when the bond was voted on by the council to go to voters.
Pearlman has also been the lone dissenting vote on uncontroversial developments, including a request to convert an existing structure at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC) into a private school for grades 6 through 12. He offered no explanation of his “no” vote.
His objections to the new police station have likewise alienated him from any potential allies in the police department. During the swearing in ceremony of Police Chief Jarad Phelps, officers were seen turning their backs on Pearlman.
Pearlman likely has few friends in city hall, either. In May, Pearlman intimated that city staff, alongside Drucker, delivered a secret presentation to architects and engineers about development on the 7.8 acres east of Northwest Second Avenue, the area that Save Boca fought against being developed by Terra/Frisbie—a conspiracy that Drucker shot down.
“You ran on lies, you ran on a lot of misinformation, and you are not going to sit up here and accuse me or staff,” Drucker said at the time.
With his dwindling store of political capital and allies, it’s hard to imagine a second term from Pearlman.
Delray cancels Pride and St. Patrick’s Day events
The Delray Beach City Commission last week cancelled its planned Pride and St. Patrick’s Day events for next year.
That’s because of new legislation signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis that prohibits spending public funds on any events that advance DEI—diversity, equity, inclusion.
S.B. 1134 prohibits funding or promoting or taking official action as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The parades were city-funded. The Pride parade was the obvious target of DeSantis’ and the Republican Legislature ire, but because the St. Patrick’s Parade is tied to cultural heritage, it too got swept up in the ban.
Mayor Tom Carney has stated that the City is looking for outside funding to keep the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. No announcements have been made about the Pride parade.
CP Group buys Mizner Park
Mizner Park is back under the ownership of its original developer, CP Group.
CP Group, then Crocker Partners, entered into the City’s first-ever public-private partnership (P3) deal, with the City issuing nearly $70 million in bonds issued by the CRA to help finance the development of Mizner Park, which was intended to bring life back to Boca’s blighted downtown when it opened in 1991.
The property changed hands three more times before coming back to CP Group, who finalized the purchase of the property last week for $193 million. CP Group Director of Communications Giana Pacinelli said of the purchase at this week’s CRA meeting, “As the original developer, we plan to resuscitate, restore, and enhance Mizner park to its former stature as the centerpiece of our downtown.”
The reason Pacinelli was at this week’s CRA meeting was for clarification on an ordinance before the council at its regular meeting that would apply the Save Boca ordinance’s protection of city-owned property to properties owned by the CRA. The land underneath Mizner Park is owned by the CRA, and CP Group, represented by Pacinelli at the meeting, wanted clarification on limitations the ordinance and resolution would impose on them.
The original Save Boca ordinance prohibits “sale, lease, or alienation” of city-owned land larger than a half-acre without a referendum vote. Bonnie Miskell, an attorney for CP Group, noted at the CRA meeting that, under the terms of the original 1989 lease, CP Group is legally entitled to purchase the land after the lease’s 26th anniversary, which was in 2015. Miskell wanted assurances that a referendum vote would not be required for such a sale. City Attorney Josh Koehler said that because those purchase options pre-date the Save Boca ordinance, no such vote would be needed.
The council approved the ordinance with a 4-0 vote.
