After Tuesday’s special city commission meeting on the Crest Theater, one wonders again why any credible person or entity would want to do business in Delray Beach.
Supposedly, the commission had gathered to decide which group would operate the theater’s renovated classrooms and kitchen. Instead, the commission made no decision. Indeed, it’s unclear what decision the commission wants to make.
The Boca Raton Museum of Art wanted a three-year lease. After the presentations, though, Mayor Tom Carney said he wasn’t prepared to make such a long commitment. His immediate priority was to open the classrooms for the summer, which Carney said was “no reflection” on the museum.
Commissioner Juli Casale, who two years ago supported a contract for the Boca Raton museum to run the Cornell Museum, pushed back hard. Did Carney want to leave the Crest “totally unoccupied?” Carney bristled that he would not let Casale “put words in my mouth.” He wanted to make sure that the city was “getting the right management.”
The politics of the issue, which were clear going in, became clearer. Casale repeatedly disparaged Old School Square Center for the Arts, which wanted to get involved again three years after Casale and two others ended the group’s lease of the entire Old School Square campus with no backup plan.
Commissioner Rob Long, who defeated Casale a year ago in part because he opposed that vote, stuck up for Old School Square Center for the Arts. He noted the obvious: it’s the only group that has experience running the complex.
Carney ran in March as part of a slate that also included Casale and Thomas Markert. Carney allowed Casale to regularly interrupt anyone who disagreed with her, to the point that Casale drew laughter when she said of someone who interrupted her, “I have the floor.”
In 2022, Old School Square Center for the Arts sued the city, alleging wrongful termination of the lease. The city countersued. Under the settlement, which the previous commission approved in April 2023, both sides withdrew their claims against the other. During commission discussion of the settlement, which was not made public, sentiment was that both sides should stop criticizing the other.
Carney thus allowed Casale to violate at least the spirit of that settlement. Carney piled on, claiming that Old School Square Center for the Arts has “baggage.” Commissioner Tom Markert resurrected the debunked claim that the group is under federal investigation. City Attorney Lynn Gelin, who negotiated the settlement, enabled such comments by suggesting that the Crest issue was separate from the lease, which made previous allegations of financial management relevant.
It thus seems clear that the current commission does not want to hire Old School Square Center for the Arts. Which leaves the Boca Raton Museum of Art. The other three entities—27 Productions, HZIP LLC and Windmill Theater—might as well have stayed home.
But what does the commission want the museum to do? And for how long? Carney said he wants to “monetize” the Crest and possibly other parts of Old School Square. How would that happen? He has suggested that different entities could manage parts of Old School Square. How would that work?
As the discussion meandered without resolution, Gelin proposed that the city offer temporary permits, rather than leases, to open the Crest classrooms. Over Casale’s objections, Gelin will bring the idea to the June 4 meeting.
Boca Raton Museum of Art Executive Director Irvin Lippman said the non-decision “came as something of a surprise.” Having the museum just offer classes for the summer is not workable, he said, because those classes already are set at the museum’s school in Boca Raton. “Summer,” Lippman noted, “is a week away.” The city, he said, “must make the first move.”
Whether the museum still has an interest will be “a board decision,” Lippman said. The museum also may have an alternative—Boynton Beach’s new downtown cultural complex. Given its hostility toward the group that created Old School Square, that could leave the commission with no options.
Long called the meeting “an embarrassment.” Old School Square Center for the Arts Chair Patty Jones called it “crazy.” What happens now? “I don’t believe the city knows what it wants,” Jones said. “The city has to decide what it wants.”
Lippman to retire from Boca Art Museum
Speaking of Lippman, he is retiring at the end of the year.
During his decade as director, the museum has transformed its exterior and brought exhibitions that have generated worldwide attention. Two recent ones stand out: “Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru” and “The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop.” The first was an international premiere.
Next year, the museum celebrates its 75th anniversary. The board has hired a search firm to find Lippman’s replacement, who will have the proverbial tough act to follow.
Delray delays filling DDA board vacancy
Another problem arose Tuesday with the attempt to fill a vacancy on the board of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority.
In April, the commission removed Rick Burgess for using a false business address. He has challenged that removal in court. This month, the commission chose Realtor Damara Cohn. She resigned the same week because of…a false address.
On Tuesday, the commission was set to try again. Three people had applied. Then Carney, who will make the appointment, asked to delay the vote until next month, when some existing board terms end.
Al Costilo, who own’s Big Al’s Steaks and formerly served on the DDA board, was one of the applicants. During the meeting, city officials heard that Costilo’s landlord is seeking to evict him. According to the lawsuit filed in December, 450 East Atlantic Investments LLC alleges that Costilo owes roughly $130,000 in back rent. A March mediation session failed to resolve the lawsuit.
The delay suggests that Costilo was the preferred choice of current and former board members aligned with DDA Executive Director Laura Simon and thus with the current commission majority. Carney could have chosen Realtor Robert Dockerty, one of the other two applicants. Former DDA Chair Mavis Benson, who filed the ethics complaint that led to Burgess’ removal, spoke on Costilo’s behalf.
I’ll have more before the June 18 meeting.
Fundraising for Delray/Boynton House seat
Republican William Reicherter has put $60,000 of his own money into a potential challenge to Florida House District 90 incumbent Joe Casello, a Democrat. The district includes Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.
Reicherter, though, lives in Coral Springs. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully against State Sen. Tina Polsky. Reicherter does live in that district.
Overall, Reicherter had raised about $75,000 through March 31. New reports will come after June 30. Reicherter has received $3,000 from James Batmasian, one of Boca Raton’s largest landowners. Casello has raised about $25,000, most of it in $1,000 contributions from Tallahassee-aligned committees.
The qualifying period is June 10-14. Candidates must live in the district upon taking office. Reicherter told me he is negotiating the purchase of a home in Delray Beach.
$2 million donation to FAU from the Marcus Foundation
As city council members on Wednesday stressed that they want Boca Raton to be a city of “innovation,” Florida Atlantic University announced a donation toward that end.
The Marcus Foundation, founded by Bernard Marcus, is giving $2 million to the lab schools at FAU—A.D. Henderson and FAU High School. According to a news release, the money will create 12,000 square feet of space for STEM (science, technology, engineering, medicine) classes that will allow students “to become researchers and innovators of tomorrow.”
Marcus is a co-founder of Home Depot. The Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital is named for him.
