Dear Friends and Neighbors: I hope you’re enjoying the cool breezes we all look forward to. It’s great to wear shorts in February, so get outside and enjoy why we are the envy of the country as August is just around the corner. Now, with our “season” is in full swing and no shortage of important work to be done, your city commission and city staff remain as busy as ever. In the pages that follow, I’d like to share some of the many interesting and important things happening in our great town. Those who have watched our town transform through the years see more changes - new hotels, new stores of all shapes and sizes, movie theatres, residential and office developments, all of which helps sustain our city. To some, such growth is appealing; to others it’s threatening. Like beauty, “progress” is also in the eye of the beholder. We cannot build, physically or in our minds, a moat around our city, thinking we can thrive frozen in time, or that we’ve done or have enough, or that new development is our foe. To sustain a vibrant quality of life that comes from resilient property values and a dynamic local economy that recognizes small businesses are the glue that hold neighborhoods and communities together, we need continued growth; hopefully some re-purposing what is already here. But, as we grow toward shared prosperity, I hope future leaders champion authenticity over contrived and measure progress by more personal touchstones – does it respect the way we want to live here; does it honor the way we can take advantage of all the opportunities our city can create. As Albert Einstein opined, “Life is like a bicycle…to keep your balance, you must keep moving,” and balance for Delray Beach will, I suspect, remain a progress paradox. So, I encourage you to stay engaged, challenge conventional thinking (both yours and others), and share your views with elected leaders. It will take commitment and collaboration to insure our progression honors all that we were entrusted.

To that end, I’m reminded of something written by John Ruskin, a prominent social thinker of the mid- 1800s, on the back cover of Delray Beach’s 1961 Comprehensive Plan (read on page 10 about our current Comp Plan), which was sound advice then and rings true today, reminding us that ideas and convictions ultimately overcome all else:

“When we build let us think we build forever; let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when these stones will be held sacred because we have toughened them, and that man will say as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them: ‘See, this our fathers did for us.” Now, as I near the end of the two terms the people of this great city elected me to serve, I want to thank you for the opportunity you have given me. It’s been an honor and privilege to serve as mayor of our great town, working side-by-side with you - so many interesting and talented people - old friends and new, to continue the progress of our amazing village-by-the-sea. It hasn’t always been easy. Sometimes, it’s been hard. But we got things done, and I think we made Delray a better place along the way. See you around town. Cary D. Glickstein Mayor

City Commission Mayor Cary Glickstein Vice-Mayor Jim Chard

Dep. Vice-Mayor Shirley Johnson Commissioner Mitch Katz

Commissioner Shelly Petrolia

Upcoming Events: March 13 - Municipal Election March 17 - St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 26 - 10th Annual Savor the Avenue March 29 - Annual Organization/Commission Meeting March 31– Annual Easter Egg Hunt April 13-15 - Delray Affair May 19 - Annual Ocean Mile Swim

Delray Beach City Hall

100 N.W. 1st Avenue

Delray Beach, FL 33444

Phone: 561-243-7000

Website: mydelraybeach.com

Twitter: @citydelraybeach

Facebook: @cityofdelraybeach

Courtesy of Delray Beach Historical Society

Greetings from Mayor Glickstein

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#NeverAgain

After Sandy Hook, when 26 lives were taken, 20 of them mere babies, one would have thought that was the inflexion

point this country needed to, at last, move away from the tortured politics of guns. But no, politicians shook their heads

and said we shouldn’t talk about it. Our nation grieved and sent their thoughts and prayers, but they didn’t want to

talk about it. We can’t politicize this, they said - 20 kids are dead; we must lay them to rest before we can talk about it.

But the horrors of Sandy Hook have been diminished because

too few politicians did talk about it, and since Sandy Hook

there have been 239 school shootings nationwide where 438

have been shot in schools, 138 of whom were killed, leaving

almost no state untouched. And while each new tragedy

recalls past suffering, our Tallahassee and Washington

lawmakers don’t want to talk about it and do nothing.

Now the horrors at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School

in Parkland will be seared in our memories, regrettably less

for the great school and city they are and more for the

senseless death of children, friends, neighbors, teachers, and

bright futures and families shattered in an instant by a sick teenager who, but for the inaction and complicity of

politicians, the gun-lobby and others, should never have been anywhere near a firearm.

Private guns have killed more Americans since 1960 than all our wars combined. Think about that, and if that statistic

doesn’t shake you, nothing can. Our gun-related homicides are higher than any other developed country by 20x over.

On average, 33,000 Americans lose their lives to guns every year. When more than 3,000 Americans lost their lives to

terrorists, we rightfully left no stone unturned seeking justice. But when we lose 33,000 each year, by our own hands,

lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington don’t want to talk about it or do anything.

Where money buys the message, the gun-lobby’s talking points will pivot the narrative away from one of avoidable

murders of law-abiding American people and children. You can almost hear the whispers….just lay low, send thoughts,

prayers, and now tweets, but do absolutely nothing… today’s angst and media attention will fade, and, after all it’s not

your kids hiding in closets, texting siblings and parents “I love you” and “goodbye,” or with memories forever etched of

dying classmates in hallways that were minutes earlier full of high-fives and weekend plans but are now crime scenes.

Lobbyist have paid lawmakers to ignore the problems they are there to solve, making lawmakers complicit in the

senseless destruction of American families they so hypocritically say they stand for.

How can a background check be something we’re against? How can paramilitary weapons built solely for human

slaughter be allowed to reach the hands of children. And if the prevailing argument is it’s about metal health, then it is

illogical to think regulations would not help. And while the right and left dig in, children are dying in between.

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#NeverAgain (Continued)

Has the hubris of power left lawmakers incapable of feeling a father’s lifelong torment wondering whether he told the

daughter he will never see again if he loved her before she rushed off to school, or can they fathom just how broken a

mother’s heart can be? The congressional enablers and apologists, who embrace “see something, do nothing” will in

years to come be seen on the wrong side of history, with only their conscience to answer.

While there is no punishment equal to the evil committed here, the perpetrator who pulled the trigger will see justice

served. But make no mistake, the failed politics that moved this from remote possibility to a new normal in our schools

has been fueled and fortified with gun-lobby blood money. And when the news crews leave, and the mothers and

fathers are left with quiet streets and quiet grief, I hope our feckless lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington finally

see their inaction as the failed leadership it is, as they are reminded those mothers and fathers parents can’t leave. They

can never leave, and while the seconds, minutes, days and nights and weeks to come are, for them, filled with a pain so

deep, lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington don’t want to talk about it.

I am happy to say that in Delray Beach we are proud to talk about it and we were proud to host Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School students and teachers and our congressional leadership to say something - #NeverAgain

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What Makes a Delray Beach “Special Event” - Special

As a city known for throwing a party and its special events, we continue reshaping our local event policies and the image of our town they engender, while measuring success by how much all our residents and businesses enjoy them and participate, rather than by the quantity of people attending. Promoting our local businesses, providing fun and unique things to do, see and hear for all ages and from all corners of the city, and consideration for our resident’s desire to peacefully enjoy their hometown requires balance. There’s never a singular solution when reconciling competing views but we have come a long way in preserving and building upon those hometown events that are truly special- by the way they honor our unique local culture and “vibe” that defines who we are. Below are a few examples of some of the wonderful events we shared in 2017:

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Beach Plan

My last message noted how we are addressing the many problems associated with substance abuse in our community and the addiction treatment industry’s exploitation of those in their care. This multi-faceted problem has no single solution; addiction treatment will require many inter-related answers, not the least of which is understanding and treatment of mental health disorders, that will take years and significant resources to identify, implement and determine if successful. One thing is certain, real solutions will remain elusive until our federal and state governments start acting like the public health crisis they have declared it to be but done little to fix.

For too long, Delray was a posterchild for addiction treatment abuses, an unwitting host to criminal enterprises and unscrupulous profit-over-patient providers preying on the most vulnerable – addicts and their helpless families grasping at straws. With little in the way of recovery success stories juxtaposed against daily headlines of escalating overdoses and fatalities,

neighborhood denigration, criminal enterprises and egregious profit, we could continue waiting for someone else to act while avoiding negative media attention for fear of reputational damage to our town. Thankfully, we charted a different course. By using media attention to shine a spotlight on industrywide, systemic abuses and criminality, we achieved national, statewide and local awareness which we leveraged with strategic efforts to implement legislation that i n c r e a s e d s c r u t i n y a n d accountability for substance abuse treatment providers, increased the punishment for related criminal activities, and helped impower our state attorney’s office and local law enforcement to arrest, prosecute and imprison criminals which has resulted in the elimination of many treatment-related criminal enterprises. In addition, using data that supports most people with substance abuse problems started their downward spiral with pharmaceutical opioid pain medication, the city filed a federal lawsuit (the first in the State) against pharmaceutical opioid manufactures and distributors who knowingly and falsely representing their products as safe and overstated the benefits while underplaying the risks. The city’s decision to initiate its lawsuit has now been followed by several major Florida cities and counties. There are now over 250 lawsuits pending against the same parties.

The result of the city’s sustained, proactive efforts – a near 80% reduction since October (as compared to 2016) in both

overdoses and fatalities. We are saving lives through a combination of eliminating unscrupulous sober homes operators

and treatment providers through legislation and oversight, community policing, outreach and advocacy, and increased

criminal prosecutions, all of which means a safer city for everyone – including those seeking addiction treatment from

legitimate providers, thus affording more opportunities for loved ones to make it home and find sobriety.

Addiction Problems - We Are Making a Difference

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Delray Schools…..Working Toward Education Excellence.

While our county School District, one of the largest in the nation, is responsible for our public schools, Delray has, for many years, played an active role in shaping public education for our city. In many ways, Delray has distinguished itself from other cities when we established a volunteer Education Board and city staff position to guide elected leadership on best practices to improve our schools and work with school and district administrators. Like other challenges, we aren’t waiting for others to solve ours and in 2018 we find ourselves at an important crossroad. For the first time in many years, there is substantial funding allocated for Delray schools through the penny sales tax approved by voters last year. With over $42 million appropriated for Delray school construction and improvements, we must determine whether the district’s plans align with the most innovative ways to allocate scarce resources. Making an old school bright and shiny but doing little to alter programming and methodologies specific to our demographics and needs will not change performance outcomes that must improve. We need data-driven solutions over parochial, political or nostalgic aspirations to reach our overarching goals of:

• Maximize efficiencies (better to have fewer full schools at maximum

efficiency than more schools significantly under capacity) that could result in repurposing school facilities and/or property (affordable housing for teachers), and consolidation of schools by looking at Delray schools holistically, rather than individually;

• Develop new programming and branding to attract and retain families (and their employers) that demonstrates our school (programs) are relevant and compelling;

• Leverage relations with our business community, school district, and local colleges to create a sophisticated technical training complex for high school and adults to prepare our workforce and increase job readiness skills;

• Expand early childhood offerings through public/private partnerships for intergenerational day-care, placement of early childhood programs in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and support for our Campaign for Grade Level Reading to increase reading proficiencies;

• Implement connectivity and verticality to programming to take students from kindergarten through high school (including after school programming) where they excel; and

• Establish a Children, Youth, and Family Board to oversee issues of education, homelessness, health disparities, youth and senior programming to facilitate a continuity of services.

This plan will require heavy lifting for the long haul as there is no easy or quick fix. It will require us to take bold steps, have honest conversations and dedicated partners and funding sources. For some additional information, please see link to our Educational Master Plan.

Link: Educational Master Plan

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HOW WE LINK STUDENTS WITH BUSINESS LEADERS AND FUTURE EMPLOYERS….

The City forged a partnership between Carver Middle and the Council for Educational Change, a statewide

organization focusing on administration leadership to improve student achievement. The Partnership to Advance

School Success (PASS) program matches a school principal with a senior corporate executive to help infuse real-time

business strategies into public school operations. The City committed to a $100,000 matching grant that connected the

CEO of national candy retailer IT’SUGAR, Jeff Rubin, with Carver’s principal, Kiwana Prophete. Working with Carver

teachers, the students learned entrepreneurial lessons while applying math, chemistry, marketing, finance and

accounting skills to create a business plan and an actual product – the Carver Gummy Pop, that was sold in over 100

retail stores around the world. The sales proceeds are now a recurring source of revenue for the Carver Middle. The

program was so successful Ms. Prophete won the prestigious Leonard Miller Principal Leadership Award in 2016.

Building on that success, when the Council asked the City to partner again in

2017, the City initiated an Executive PASS program with Orchard View

Elementary that created a partnership with Delray Medical Center, the city’s

largest employer, to jumpstart a medical arts academy. We envision this

project-based, early education initiative between elementary students/

teachers and DMC staff will lead to more interest in STEM and IB programs

at Carver Middle, and, ultimately, a Medical Certification Program at

Atlantic High School, providing a continuous medical arts learning track and

a pathway to college and career opportunities, perhaps where they started -

at Delray Medical Center or other healthcare employers.

WENDY’S HIGH SCHOOL HEISMAN AWARD GOES TO…

The most prestigious award in high school athletics has named Jackson

Destine, of Atlantic High School, as its 2017 national winner. Destine

was selected from high school seniors at more than 30,000 high schools

across the country and was awarded a $10,000 college scholarship.

Jackson is proof that life’s circumstances do not define a person; grit

and determination do. Despite a very challenging upbringing, Jackson

found ways to pursue a bright future. When a lack of income

threatened his ability to participate in high school sports, he started his

own candy company. He has set fifteen school records in three sports

while maintaining a 4.0 GPA and working over twenty hours a week to help his grandmother with bills. Jackson also

composes original raps with a powerful message: all teens have choices, even when growing up in tough places. He was

elected class President, composed Atlantic High’s official song and a song for Florida Governor Scott’s Math Nation

program, and he has performed for the school board, city commission and local media. Please enjoy the following links

to see more of Jackson Destine’s personal story and the Heisman Award presentation.

Video Links: Jackson Destine’s Personal Story Heisman Award Presentation

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Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise –

Florida and Delray Beach Will Face Tough Choices From tourism to transportation, Florida’s economy is anchored in its coastal communities, and the shifting line between

water and beach will always have a major impact on Delray’s economy and our city’s ability to manage costs,

infrastructure and liability.

Forget climate change politics, the seas around Florida have been rising for eons. Florida

has over 18,000 years of experience with sea-level rise. At the peak of the last glacier

cycle, when seas were far lower, you could hike south from Tampa to Key West, as the

beach was over 100 miles west of where it is today. Regardless of how you feel about

climate change, Florida’s experience with sea-level rise shows unequivocally that the sea

has been rising ever since that Tampa to Key West hike was possible. How quickly it

will continue rising in future years, however, will pose a host of challenges for the state

and our city. Timing is everything.

There are no easy answers and the questions keep evolving. How does Florida, in

general, and Delray Beach, specifically, plan to protect coastal infrastructure and private

property (our tax base and fiscal lifeblood) from rising seas? When do coastal property

owner’s rights supersede those of the larger community? How do we balance the private

property rights with the protection of public resources like beaches? Who pays?

Sea-level rise projections based on the 2015 South Florida Climate Change Compact, a

non-partisan joint effort of South Florida counties to educate and guide policy, of which

Delray Beach is a participant, instructs that big changes appear instore for all of us. The

state that went from water-logged afterthought to the nation’s third most populous in

less than a century will see the process reverse this century as land disappears. Rising

insurance premiums, business interruptions from flooding, and repeated flooding of

homes and streets, will, over time, force many coastal residents to relocate within the

state or leave. Costs will rise dramatically as government tries to keep drainage systems

ahead of rising seas and freshwater ahead of saltwater intrusion – costs that will be too

high for some areas to be saved.

But Florida has proven itself adaptable: it strengthened building codes after Andrew in 1992 and has rebuilt its

insurance markets after subsequent storms. Since Florida was first inhabited centuries ago, we have learned to live here

by managing water. Thus, our future requires us to heed the data (over politics), collaborate, decide what areas to

protect, what to let go and learn to live, as we always have, with the water.

While sea-level rise for our coastal community may seem too daunting a challenge for local government, we don’t have

to become heroes overnight. With more data and clarity, combined with proactive thinking and the resolve to act,

albeit incrementally, we will figure it out. Ignoring realties and doing nothing, however, will place insurmountable

liabilities on future generations of our city.

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Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise (continued)

Balancing protection of people, property and infrastructure with protection of the beaches and coastline that defines

our city has no easy solutions, but below are some examples of what Delray Beach has done and is doing:

Beach Nourishment Program:

The City performed an initial beach nourishment project in 1973 and, on average, performs re-nourishments of around 1

million cubic yards of new sand every 8 years. In addition to receiving federal approval for sand re-nourishment for

damages sustained by Hurricane Irma, we anticipate the next full beach re-nourishment to occur in 2020/2021, subject

to identification of sand resources and funding assistance, both of which will become more challenging.

Dune Management:

The City has an average of 160’ wide man-made dune the entire length of our public beach. The dune development

project began as an effort to solve the problem of sand blowing into the street after the first major beach nourishment

project in 1973. The City maintains vegetation on the dunes to trap and stabilize wind-blown sand. The sand captured

by the vegetation grows an elevated dike which can reduce flooding and wave damage during extreme weather events.

Having adequate dunes on the beach will prevent damages from storm surge and protect oceanfront communities from

rising sea levels.

Seawalls and Stormwater Management:

Veterans Park seawall cap has been raised 20” to accommodate sea level rise. The seawall cap has been designed to allow

for an additional 16” of cap in the future. The Marina District’s public seawall must be completely re-built. A Seawall

Vulnerability Analysis is underway to provide elevation/policy guidance for both public and private seawall

construction standards.

Stormwater Management Plan implementation is underway with backflow preventers (check valves, flap gates and

duckbills) installed in all stormwater outfalls along the Intracoastal Waterway where reclaimed water systems have

been constructed. Funding for installation of all additional, remaining backflow prevention is included in the city’s FY

‘19 Capital Improvement Plan.

While we may differ as to the causes of climate change, we all share responsibility to future generations to act as good

stewards of our environment. To see how Delray Beach was highlighted regarding its other sustainable practices, please

see the link to the The Municipal.

Link: The Municipal

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The City is continuing work on the Comprehensive Plan, the City's

overall policy document that describes how the community looks

today and how we expect it to look in the future. It includes

information for a wide range of topics including future land uses,

transportation, economic development, healthy communities,

education, sustainability, and resilience, historic preservation,

housing, recreation, infrastructure, conservation, and coastal

management.

Though each of these are separate elements of the Plan, they all work

together to ensure a cohesive and holistic Plan for our future. It is our

city’s roadmap for how will Live, Work, Play and Grow over the next

5, 10 and 20 years. With the help of “subject matter experts”, city staff and volunteers from our local community

partners, elements of the Plan are taking shape. In October, the Steering Committee convened to review the first drafts

of the Public Facilities & Services, Capital Improvements, and Intergovernmental Coordination (re-named to “Strategic

Partnerships”) Elements.

The Coastal Management Element will be

the focus of the next Steering Committee

meeting, planned for March. The Open

Space & Recreation and Housing Elements

are targeted for Steering Committee

meetings in April. In the upcoming months,

additional Steering Committee meetings will

be planned as the remaining elements of

Transportation & Mobility, Education,

Historic Preservation, Economic Development, Healthy Communities, Sustainability & Resiliency, and Future Land

Use take shape and come together.

WE WANT YOU!! THIS IS YOUR PLAN AND WE WANT AND WELCOME YOUR INPUT!

The Comp Plan update is on track to be fully drafted by July/August, with workshops and public hearings in the Fall of

2018. The Comp Plan update is anticipated to be adopted by the City Commission in the Winter 2018/Spring 2019.

Be sure to stay tuned for more updates on the Comprehensive Plan by visiting alwaysdelray.com and follow us on

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AlwaysDelrayCompPlan/

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What Makes Delray Beach Hum – Our Employees and

Volunteers, over 1,000 Strong

We have over 850 full-time employees and 200 volunteers with senior management now competing with the private

sector for personnel talent in a near-fully employed workforce. Despite acute competition, I could not be more pleased

with the leadership we have at the helm and the many dedicated department heads and employees who enjoy their jobs

and are eager to better serve our community. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. Will there continue to be

changes in personnel? Always; just like every good team seeking the best talent. Are we on the right path? While city

hall itself may not resemble a 21st century building, the people who work there are a diverse, forward-thinking, solution-

oriented bunch who welcome new ideas, collaboration, accountability to their teams and to taxpayers, and who

recognize that for our city government to deliver on its potential we can no longer sustain ineffective traditions over

optimal results. The future looks bright!

I’d like to introduce our city management and department heads that lead this great organization.

Mark R. Lauzier

City Manager Caryn Gardner-

Young Asst. City Mgr.

India Adams Asst. to the

City Manager

Michael Coleman Community Improvement

Director

Neal de Jesus Fire Chief

Sharon Liebowitz Human Resources

Director

Mickey Baker IT Director

Joan K. Goodrich Economic

Development Director

Suzanne Fisher Parks & Recreation

Director

Tim Stillings Planning & Zoning

Director

Jeffrey Goldman Police Chief

Jennifer Alvarez Purchasing Director

In closing, to all city employees, I want to thank you for your dedicated efforts on behalf of our citizens and all the help

and assistance you provided me through the years and leave you with one final thought.

Greatness rarely emerges on the first pass. Those lucky to achieve true greatness at anything only did so after failure;

sometimes many, sometimes at terrible personal costs. Failure - never sought, always dreaded, impossible to ignore - is

the specter that hovers over every attempt at greatness. Yet without the sting of failure to spur us to reassess and

rethink, progress would be impossible. “Try again. Fail again,” wrote author Samuel Beckett. “Fail Better.” Today, CEOs

of the most successful companies in the world recognize this interplay of success and failure as the yin yang of progress.

The most elite business schools in the nation teach its lessons. Indeed, the very word “success” is derived from the

Latin succedere, “to come after” - and what it comes after, yes, is failure. Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark,

Benjamin Franklin, NASA, and Apple, among countless others whom we admire, all soared beyond its sting. Famed

oceanographer Robert Ballard, upon finding the Titanic after years of failed attempts, noted, “If you take away

uncertainty, you take away motivation. Wanting to exceed your grasp is the nature of the human condition. There’s no

magic in getting where we already know we can get.”

Remember, freedom is the responsibility to fill our lives with meaning. I wish you all much success in your own

personal and professional pursuits of greatness in whatever you undertake. CDG

Katerri Johnson City Clerk

Kimberly Ferrell Finance Director

Marjorie Craig Utilities Director

Max Lohman City Attorney

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