12-20-65SpMtg 355
DE~EMBER 20, ~9~5.
.A special meeting of the City. Council of the City of De ~L~ay Beach
was held ~ the '0munc~ C~bers mtn8.:00 P;M., Nonday, Decembe~ 20th~
1965, with M~yor Al. ~. Avery in the Chair, City ~ager. David M.
Gatchel, ~tty A~to~ney ~o~ ~s ~'~., ~d 'Gounci~ ~, ~Roy 0~oft,
J~es H. ~rney, Jack L. ~a~nde~s ~d/Gep~ .~bot,
had.been c~lled fo~-~he ~ose.'of ~Xder~ng~o~lb'te ao~s.~tien
_~ · ~. ope~ng pmayer was deli~ered by t~ "~e7. ~b~t Morey.,. ~d the
,.~dge'. of ~leg~ce %o t~' Flag .02 t~ ~:ed'.~%~e.;'o~' ~erie.a'.wes
'" May~ AV'~y~Sa~ tha~ ~en the subject' ~f bea6~ ~qu~sit~on o~e
up,.-tbs.-Cit~-.C~l had.j.a~ed t~t s~e ~ould .be. c~tdere~ at a
special me6t~g thgt ~ou'ld. be called with s~fictent .~- for ever~
one to be'no$ified;'therefo~e, at t~e re~l~ Council ~etl~g of
December 13~h,. it. was ~ecided to call_this meeting ~d i~ .was felt
tkat gave';s~fi&i~t t~e fbr ~%rested p~$ies t.oz .appe.~ ~d m~e
~ ..' Ma~or Avery comen~ed'.< ~:. f~llowa :'" "~I~ Ol~y O.ounctl has aXways
fet~ ~hat ~ch ~d_ .$ve~ 'bers~ holds h~ op.~ions ..~S hopes'%l~ as
~e next ~so~, as we ~'o .oM~selv. es.. ~en.~e ~ve a.cont~ve~stal
subject, ~e 'set ~o~d ?~les, in.fact, .thev '~'e ~oDs:tknt ~9~d ~!es
in ~ont"of this Co,oil, '~d we ask everyone to 9~ain in good ~ste,
~d we will all~ no one to ~t~t!e ~yone~s se~.r.espect~ We me'et
in all friend'li~ss and revery per~n~ pr% ~ con/who, w~hes to. be
he~dk wili 'be he~d~ Ad~9q%te t~ will be given .~o~ ea6~ per,'on'to'
present his 'case. 'W6 do ask this in yOU~ ~t~est ~ oUrs~ ~oo,
that you try to ~efrain from being repeti~s. '~so, if a perdon
has. made a point,.we msk.'-~, ts'refrain f~ aDplause.. We will give
each person a chloe to ~alse their .h~ds 'if they endorse o~ do not
endorse what the pePson has.'said; ~is way you can make ~o~ yo~
feelings wi~oU% having to c~ -forward ~d'r~peat'~at.someDne else
has sai~. ~is is onl~ a suggesti0h, In %he inte~st of g6od ~d
orderly p~ooedure."
Following the request of ~yor Avery that the 'lqca~ion-of ~e
beach be identifle4~ City Clerk Worthing e~lained that 'said proposed
beach is 300 f~% s.outh, mf the H~ilton House,. ~d comt~ues aou~ward
f~r 400 fee~, ' ' ~
Mayor Avery said that aide. the ~.~.ay. ~aeh Jayc~s h~e-a
Resolution amd a~other prese~$at!on .20r '~he 0~unoiI~ they shOuid be
coasidered at this t~e, ~d ~. ~Roy ~rri~ i~.~med the Co'oil
~h~ he Is p~sen~ as a member ~d r~esen~a~ive mf ~ De~ay ~a~h
Jayaee4, ~d ~hen ~rea the 2olX~ing
"~, ~he ~l~ay ~ach ~yeees .haVe aa~e~lly
c~nsldeved ~he proposad ~r~se of 'addi~tonal
beac~2v~nt property S~u~h o~, buS. 'not con~i~.ous
to, a~ e~stlng ~l~ipal beach, and
~q~ we feel that ~h~ purch~e of ~his non-con-
~!~:'p~o~er~y :!-~. an' inVes'~en~ In future problems
ins o~~ as ~a~D~o e, e~O's:X'~:,' ~d--sup e~isi~n
~e c~ce~d, ~d
~, it"is ~ opinion that ~e ~ds a~llooated
t, ~u~haae,. ~rove, ~d maintain the ~ea in
q~ea~ion co.~Jd ~ette~ ~ u~d 'to ~e benefit of all
ci~ze~ ~ ~e~ay Beach,' ~d
~, we feelthat t~lS ~ue ~o~ld be
absented of all politioai.i~olvem~n% now
T~0~,be it reselved tha~ the ~.ay ~ach.
~aycees ge on reco~d as be~ o~posed to the
purchase of 'this property ~d that this
~ach
resolutien ~e~ve as a petiti~n, to the De~ay
1356
City Council, calling for a public referendum
prior to the expenditure of these Capital Improvement
Program funds.
Passed in open and regular session of the Delray Beach Jaycees ....
this' 8th day of Deq..em.ber ' 1965."
Mr. Merritt continued as follows: "Honorable ~,Mayor and members
of the Delsey Beach City Council,_ I ha~e here a blueprint o_.f the
Seacrest Hotel property. As you kn_ow~ immediately across 'the street
on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and "A1A is our present .City pool.
This being Ocean Boulevard here and the ocean out here, the pool is
across the street on this cQrner. This pool, and some of you probably
know better than~ I do, is some thirty to ~forty years old. I beli~eve
now it 'is -probably costing us more for maintenance than we are taking
in from this City. facility.
The ~eacrest property would provide ample space, or ample room
for the' new ~actlity of our municipal pool. This blueprint has been
d~awn more than anything elbe to show the available space and hC~..it
'can best be Us~ed. - Not necessarily close'this mean~ that~ this is where
we are proposing this facility be' located'~insofar as being on the
property, bu~' showi~ you the space there~ is and what could be done
by purchasing the Seacrest property. The old property where the pool
now is could be sold to offset the cost °of the new facility, or the
same property could be used in any way that the City might have~ne~d
of it. Now, the Police Department has labeled the intersection, or
this area of A1A'and Atlantic Avenue as a major traffic and parking
problem. A two or three floor parking garage is necessary-and again
'this should be' left up to men who know more about it than I do-wh~h
could be bUiX~t within this same area. An automatic gate could be
installed in Imtxis parking fac'ility if you wanted to charge to have
some revenue come in, and this revenue taken in could' be used for
maintenance of this ~building, or this parking area.
Now, wi.th so many high-rise apartments being ~developed on the
beach side or over on the island, a ladder~ track.or a snorkel truck
~'-for the Fire ~Depa~tment is going to be~ a ne~e~ity. I understand
from Chief Gregory that he has been trying' t~get one of these trucks
even for 'this ~SXde 'of town for sometimes ~With no luck. It now is
going to become ~ necessity with the building of all ~f these high~
rise aparb~nts. ~olded~up, these t~ucka are about~45 tO %0 feet
long~ This means that we are going to have a new fi~e Station on the
beach side in order to accommodate not only this truck but the other
fire trucks that we now use eD that side. ~The location of the present
fire station is right in here,-which cannot be expanded because of
the size of the lots therefore, we must build a new fire station.
What better place then on' the corner of Andrews Avenue and Atlantic
Avenue~, which gives an easy access to north or south or a straight
shot to the mainland, should we need them over here for some reason.
We propose that the nbw fire station gO on the c-0rner of the ~eacrest
property.
Last, but~certainly not least, and one of the things that is
involwed, and one of the reasons we say that we need the area south
of here, is a fami.!y~type picnic area~ There is still enough room on
this one piece of property to facilitate some three hundred~y over
fifty feet wide, a strip on the north Side of this property, for this
type f. amily picnic area. The architect has-drawn in some additional
facilities which could or could not be used, plans that could be
utilized in some other way ~whenever necessary~ including a volleyball
cou~t~ activity shelter ~d shuf$leboard. He made a nic~ entrance
with little Dools ~9~t f~, ~ concession office, ladiee~ lechers,
men~s lock~r~, ~0., and a tots play a~e~..He has s~udgested .that .
.perhaps the best thing to do with ~e parking lot that we now have on
the north, side is to move the fire static~ completely and have
straight through parking with entrances fr~Om A1A and AndreWs A~enue.
In the event that this is not moved, this fire e~atiOn that is ~here
now could be us'ed for maintenance p~rpose, s. T~ is the only lot,
and it is 50 ! wide and 100!' deep, 'tl~at will not be part of the' ~i'ty
complex. There is now a two'story wood frame house on there ~ha~ 'i
feel sure s'ometime-~in tho"future could be obtained, but it does net
interfere with the plans for the develoDment Of the entire TroJeCt.
For people that might complain about the picnic area,, i~ ~s corn- '
ptetely surrounded by--the parking area that 'we now have and in no way,
I don'~t think, will. bother or conflict with people ~hat-live~'around
it, because it is entirely surrounded by other facilities that will
..... ' ' &2'~ 12-20-6%
35?
not cause an~ confusion. It would'have entrances and exits on three
different .~t~eets, Ocean Boulevard, Atlantic '~venue and Andrews
Avenue.
G~l~tlemen, this is our proposal as to how the mone~, 'the $~00,000.
-and t know that this does not cover the price; the first price that
we have had off the top 'of the head Was $600,000.GO f~or the Seacr~est
property,-~t we think the additional $400~,~000.00 coded r~aeh'better
be spent in putting it toward the purchase o~ this property than
buying something so far separated from the City. I think if this
entire complex were so sbt up and so dev~loped,.it could be a source
of enjoyment and pride for all the citiz~ens of D~elray-Beach.
Gentlemen, thank you for you~- t~e."
Mayor Avery asked Mr. Merritt if the $600.,000.00 was a 'firm price
and was informed that it was Just an offhand price.
Mayor Avery asked if it was. known what such a complex ~would cost,
for future Planning, and Mr. Merritt answered: "No, I didn't go into
that yet. We do Feel it would probably take six to eight years~ and
over a period of years, money could be allocated each year from~the
CIP program..to develop the entire complex.~ t,,~e ~mow that it will ta!~e
some time~ '~but if we lose the proper'ty now, and someb, ody els_e comes
in and bt/ilds a hotel or something 2ike that, it ~s gone.. The
pressing need now, we feel, is"to acquire' the~property~ now~while ~t
is available."
Mayor Avery asked the People in the audience who agree to this
proposal to raise their hands, and there was a-large ~how.,.of. hafids.
Mr. M. L. Benjamin commented as follows: "~'am M. L. BenJazain
of the Hamilton House, and I want to Follow along with~what the
Jaycees have brought up on a little more technical issue. The first
thine I would like t'o bring up is this thing about acquiring property.
I thiak ~/fldere ~is~a .le~.t~r.'.that came..in from our group of the~ South.
Ocean Beach property owners that there would be litigation if this_
thing of eminent domain and what necessity means to it is one of ~the
things that will have to goon, and if eminent dor~ain comes, in, it
will be in a mess and there'witt be a battle because, as you know,
there ar.e. deed restrictions, and it may1 be.t~.hAt~you might'~win in~ c~rt,
and you'may n~ot, if' you can prove the necessity, but proving'~'a ne-.
cessity, you have with this llO0 feet. you are'now getting ~A?,~_6~400 '
feet of beach atainst, we will say,Boca Raton, which now has 350 feet,
They are thinking of adding a~other llO0 feet. This is a town with
a large university, two private schools, whicl~.we all. know will b~e,
in about five y~ars, fifty t~housand people, and is g~ewing, and its
land area is pr~obabty abo~t three ~or foUr times as Big. The2 think
that this is ample for them. This thing cf when you go in~c court
you have to prove, I belie~e~is is Just my opinion-some of these
things about eminent dame, in, so you are-going into a battle ~r~ight
away on something, in my opinl, n,which ia not necessary, when the
Jaycees of this toWn ave lo'oki'~g right in the oent~~ of~.~he to~n,
where the Lmprovem~nts are mad~=.there where.'it has to~bm~de. I
would also Iike to bring up that abou't a month age, it~Aa b~ught
out here that we have to ~ix =hh~s beach. We have tO .haVe rebutment~.
~e have to. protect it against eX-osion. As I undersband ~from what ~was
said here, i't was $190.00 a fe~o~, .and 64.00°feet .at~ig0.00 per foot
is wedl over. a miIlion dolla~s~/4$ht there, and it will take some
time t~afor~.e you do that. ~ Ail I can say is ~ust what I read-in the
paper--~he Delray Beach Journal-,all they mention~is $60,000.G0.. that
could be gotten.from the State or the U'nited St~e$, and ~that .is jUst
a drop in the..bucket as far .las this ~is. conceFned{ ~. $ w$~!d also like
to say I thi~k'i~ is w~6ng maoraLly'tt~is' is my .ot~n~ gentlemen-
when .a. ll the property o~ne~.s~:that .I~ow lO~., eve~e~e,~.represent$~g
.Over. $2!000,000.00 of propav~,'en !Beth Ocean ~B~e.h~ a~e against th.is
oeacn, because they bought their prope~ ~wt~$h-this =~es~riCticn agamnst
it that there would not 'be any~hing, e~oe~t ..~/a~t .w~s' said~ on there.
Ail the other property along the beach, or whatever' ~asJdon~, ~$
bought knowing the beach ~w~s ~here, .~ I-.thin~, ~,$'.f yOU look in
the recesses of' your own heart., yvu wo~id ~ealize that.it iS not
quite one hundred pe~ cent ~s~r ~o these PeOple. There ~s going to
have to be a tremendous necessity. It woul~ have to be prove& to you
that~ it is m. necessity. I w~utd say for .some.t~g like a schoolhouse
~r~.a r/Jgh~-vf~'for a street, somethln~ that...had to be.done, this is
eminent domain that you come in and try to take so.m`e, thing. 0~side
of .that, Just from a~moral .p'oi~nt of-view, if y~uI went in'the~e and
bought that propert~y, how would ~u feet ~bou~t..~his, a~/~ 0.n top of' the
fact when we look around ~al~ ~h'e a~ear, no on_e.th!nk,~'.it~f#A :~J~ ' .... ''
12-20-65 '
necessity, I also want to bring up, it went in the papers, this
tPrfng about Miami buying a 300 foot beach for $5,000,00 per foot', It
was in the newspapers and t-am sure all of you gentlemen read it~.
that is like talking of Times Square where you pay $100,000.00 a foot
for something, and you start checking the area of beach that Miami has
and .you to~k th_e population and:took per foot of ~ea. pe~,~oo~ of
beach.and compare it to.the populations I.-%hi~k you will find it will
be fifty or a hundred to cna.in favor of Delsey Beach. ,
SuppOse now that the City did buy this property; what would it
mean to the City in dollars and cents? In the first place, they
would have to spend .$~00,000.00 '.for the property. It. is- my under-
a~anding if you look at that you would have to do the same thing.
Let,s assume $200,000.00, whatever you do$ maybe it,s a lot more.
The Jayoees. say it will take seven or eight yea~s to do-.that, but I
ion~t know ~.hether it will..-.I am going...to make the assumption of
200,006.'00 ~md you take that at the [~% you have to add and you have
25,000.00 n°w that it ie ~sti~g the City.
M~. Aubit~,~.~ho ewes the property contiguous~to it, is not
going to build the,-mixby-six eondominitu~ there. As a matter of fact,
there won't be~ anything_ built close, by it. r am a businessman.
can tell you~ now that I ney. er would have built the Hamilton House if
I had thought there was going to-be a beach there, if I didn't-have
these restrictions. Now,.if... you took that 800 feet, the ~00, 300
and the other 100 feet - 800 feet and took it in-relation even to
my proper..~y ~het was going to go on' there, there is another $25,000.00
the city iS~ losing. On top of that, if you take the fact that the ·
home owners-, including myself~ because I knoW my property will be less,
and ev~x-j home owner in there feels that and I know that is true.
They a~e going to want to come into the City and-pay.less taxes, and
there are going to be fights and battles about it, and some of them
I think hav~ written l~tters. I know of one, M~. C. D. Rmssell,
that he is going to sue the City or he is going to demand that this
come down. I will say that the fact it will stop buildings going up
Will be another $20,000.00 lost to the City, but on tOP of this, which
is' even more, if you took the 150 units that would go. on there, and
these are all high priced units, and Just take it at $3,000.00 a
year they a~e going to spend in this City. Let,s face .it, you all
know that this is a tourist ~ity, and in the summer it is dead. -That
is what brings in the money, but it brings in this k~nd of money, the
kind of money that is better than any industry tha~ .can ever come
into this Ci-ty, because when you bring'in industry,. ~you bring in
families; you have to take care of .their children; you have to build
sche~ls, and we all know that when y'eu start doing these things, that
generally it cost you more to take care of them than the ta~es that
~e' 'paid. But'her~ a~e p$~ople, and the right k~nd, that will spend
a lot of money, and let's take only $3,000.00 per apartment that would
go in,-and I would say that would be a low figure, that is $450 , 000 . 00
that every merchant, every lawyer, every professional man, every
maintenance man, everybody in this City who is dependent upon this
thing is losing. Now, I want to .ask you, where can the City go to
gmow? Zt can't gO to Gulfstream.~ It can only go an~th; %ha~es the
only place l~ can go. That is whe~e-we.~ha~e to have it to bring in
all ~of .:.ti~ese ~.~s, This seems to me so logical, so right, that it
has to ..b.~ d~en~ .~ ~..~he ~e~nt beach to' take. ca~e of it, which is many
ti~es g~ea~e..~ '~han .a!~.y.~ht. nE~ ~d many time.4'more than I'can ever .'
f.Oresee, i~"S~f~Y yea~.~h~..t W~ld b.e needed, and bythe way, you don~t'
have $.~ .b~y th.t.~ prop.e~sY~' b$~auae we-a~e talking .about eminent domain,
a~d.we a~.e ~'~t~tng ab~Bt' ~.$e~.~e~trictlons. You might as well get
~y pi. eC~ · .o~' ProPerty :you ~,t on that. beach, -Pic.k 'out an.~ piece of
~an~ ..land'~ .,~ls is con~.i..~oue and will do it, if"'tha, t is what you
h. ave i~ mi~d; You. don~ .h.~ve t.o go and' ~ake .it with' a.:BUildlng.. There
.is a t~t ef-.~aeant tan~ t~:Pe~ .you. Just w,a.lk in bY. 8'miYent .domain, It
was t.eld- to. me they -h~ve .deed'. ~.~e. at~.~t~on~.~ the~e a~e 'dee~. r.e.~.i6tions
h. ere~~' ~0o, S o ~CU 'vo,~dn ~t ha~e to speed. $&OO,.O00,O0,"' ' YOU'. could: spend
$~00~0~0.00 ..an~'~fO~ that you h&We ge% it all ~f you want it~',~ight
Ol~ '.the..beac~ where t~e peopl~ a~e., 'This seems: to me~ a:.lOgXOal approach
t6 it, I th~nk, ill y~U think it .6.Ver carefully-and view th~iS.:'thl~g and
~xpan$$on .0.f the ~w~., the tYPe .of. expansion you want',?.,:Th'i~-iS!
tYPe~' ~he'best ~YPe that .you can Possibly cyst'-get in'thi~:.c:ommunity
.Yh~t y~ amc go~g¥.to kill by doi~.~ it, Representing '~h~ B'.6Uttybe.ach
taxpayers~~ whtc~ I.:Am acting as their spokesman here'.tonight:)
is out'fO&ling'ion thiS~ and. I want to thank you f~P
Mayor Avery: asked, for a raise of'hands from all the p'e6ple' in' the
auclienoe who agree .with Mr. Benjamin,, and there was a large shc~ of
hands ~ .... -4 ' 12" 20,6~
359
Mrs. Dorothea Montgomery. informed the Council tEa~'she 'represents
the Beach Taxpayers League, as the Secre-tsmy, Nm. Dunbar~ 0ould not
be present this evening,~ and continued: "We Eve ~lwmS~ed 'aS many
of our.Board of T~ustees as we could get~ 0f what Mr~,. Du~bar was able
to canvass was about f_ifty pe~-~-.cent of our T~rustees. Thdse ft.~fty per
cent, and I have been asked .to make this ir~orma~ion available tonight,
are against the acquisition.of this prcperty, Thank y~u.'',J~
~ity Clerk Worthing-read the I'~'tlowing letter from-Nm. O~~ D.
Russell: ._.. ~ .-
"i find thatI I am unable to at%end you~ meeting of 9ec~mber
20th so am taking .-this ~hod of. expre$~.i, on of my view~. ....
My wife and I are taxpayers in '~t~e c~ty .of De-Iray ~ea~h,
Our home is located on Brooks~ Lan-e~ abO~t. 200 yards from
the McMillan parcel on th~ o~cean~ahich*o~· '~f~: .
commission proposes_ to purchase fo~ US~e ~a a:-~u~lto
beach to .be. equipped with picnic' tabtes~ t0gethe~W~th
concessions for the sale of items of~fo~d.. ~., '
A number of neighboring p~ope?ty owners incbad~ng' '
Mrs. Russell an~ myself ob'Jee't st~enuou~7 t~ ~%h~P~Po~as~ej~
-of this property for these Pu~0ses a~d have co~SUlte~
counsel regarding methods of P~s~cu~ing s~e~.' Purc~aee'." :- ....
and use. We have received advice simtI~a~ to-~ha~
in Nm. M; L.~-~.BenJamin~s.letter to you dated Rec-emhe~ ~,196~.
and wish to: advise that we intend to litigate ~this mat~r
if the City goes forwamd with it."
· City' Clerk ~orthing then r~ad. the. f~oI~o~ing lette~' from Mr~ Mo L.
BenJ~mi~l, ~aSed December 1, 196~, ~ ':-
"i wish. to reiterate and, s~pp'iems~t what' ~ stated in-
pub~ltc before th~-governing ~bo~y of the City at-its
meeti.~g cf..November~ 3G, 196~.
The gr~up~ of. ~ich ~ am a .part, and which consists of
taxpayers in the City,, opposes the purchase by the City~'
.of' the.so-called, new beach land (the ¥~Millan'.parcel)
_ out of the~ p~oceeds of the Series 'T9651cigarette tax
bonds.,-or otherwi, se$ because
1. We feel Such a pumchase is not~a proper
or wise expenditure of City Funds;
2. The~.property in questi$n is-not within ·
the City and therefore, under your Series 1955
Cigarette Tax~:Bond Resolution, is ~.ot a' proper
subject for use of.-such-funds$
3. The property i~ question is.so .encumbere~
by restrictions imposed back. in ~99I'that ~it
cannot legally be used for a 'public beach'until
1970. I, as one of the persons for 'whose
benefit these restrictions ~exist, wilt do all
in my power to see that the restrictions are
enforced.
Unless our objections noted ab~ove are consi~dered and
sustained, o~r group' is prepared~ to ~litigate the use ~
of these :bond proceeds, ~ other- City funds, for the
purchase of the MoMillan tract. Any viota$ion Of' the
above restric.t'ions b~ the City wil~ also be~ the~ s~bJect
of llttgati~n by me, and others s~ilarlY si~tUa~ed~ ~to
achieve ~a Court_~ ruling that ~a pub.~c beach u.se~bf said
land violates Such rest~ictilons.
For your further, l~f0rma~ion, the restrictions mentioned
above Permit the~ land you propose to us~e as~ a-public
beach and rec~.eational area to be used ~ty ~-o~
apartment houses; ~0~e~s, villas., cabanas, cotta~ee.' .....
sho~lng cente~s~ a~d/o~ ~esidsnees * * * '(lta~le~
s uppl$~a ~ " ....
Mayor Avery ~sked that the presentation at ~the N0vembe~
meeting of Attorney ~aymwnd Eoyoe, re~esenting Mr. Persifor ~a~er
and other i~terested ~itizens and %assayers of DelraY Beach,. be
Dresented at this-time and be' made a past of this meeting, which
pmesentation is aS'follows :.
,Mayor Avery, Gentlemen of the Council, it is a pleasure to be
here again. My name is Raimond Royce~ I am an attorney and I
am here on behalf of Mr. ~ers~for Frazer and several other in-
terested citizens and taxpayers Of Deiray ~each. ! would like ~1
to. speak with you briefly on the question of the .purchase of
.this additional 400 feet of beach frontage. First of all, and
initial!y, I would like to apologize fo= my rather untimely
presence here because I understand the question of whether or
not the beach should be purchased has somehow found its way
into the political issues. I wish to assure every person here,
every candidate, Mayor and members of th~s Commission that
am not sDeaking Eot or against any Candidate, that I am not
speaking in behal£ of or in opposition to any candidate. I
don't believe that my client would want me so to speak or would
be so inclined himself. In essence, I think, this is an impor-
tant iseue which faces the City. ~ think, frankly, it is an
issue too important and too big to properly become a polit~eal
football to be kicked' by anybody. I'm. kinds like that
States Senator that couldn't ~ecidew~ether he wanted to ~ a
Democrat or a Regub~ican, I believe it was Wayne Morris, for a
while he brought his own chair and sat in the middle of the
aisle because he didn't know whether to sit to the ~ft or to
the right. I'm not here realI¥ to speak for the proposition
and I am not here really to speak agains~ it. I have an a~ter-
nati.ve'.which I would like to suggest for your attention. First
of a11, ! would like to 9raise the' City for the very fine facili-
tlties, recreational facilities~ that the City'pre'sently has. I
think the City Fathers, the presene COu~ci~ a~d the past members
of the City Council and the Mayor are' te be commended for these
facilities. I have looked at' them perseea~Iiy and I believe that
I know whereof I speak. NOw, as a~ alternative to a decision,
a rapid decision or a quick decision,..or any decision' in the
very near ~uture, on this matter, I think it would' be well for
the Council to consider allowing the people to express themselves
and make their wishes known i~n· some manner on this subject. I
would like to spend just a very few minutes, and I w~l be very
brief, to tell you why I think, this would be mn appro~riate
a very f~ne idea. Pirst of ali, I don't we~t to become deeply
enmeshed in all of the variousmerits..and demerits and I don't
want to become' deeply enmeshed~in~all of the personal property
interests which are involved.. Certainly the property owners in
the area,~ both residential and apartment..~commercial, in that
area have a very legitimate-interest in'.t~.matter, Certainly
the question of zonin~ is going to cause some %~r¥ interesting
questions, but ! would 1.ike to discuss with y~u some of the
reasons why I think the Coun=iI should ge Slow, take a long
look at this thing, and perhaps allow the public some right to
be heard. First of all, of course,.the City does own a one mile
beach at the p~esent $!me and it is m~understanding that the
~'~y is acquiring an addi~ional '1250 feet of beach, thus giving
. the ~ity about a mile and a quarter, approximately, of beach.
This additional footage of some fou~ hundred feet would actually
be aD additional beach of about six per cent of the existing
facilities. That is,' it would not significantly, from a lineal
foot standpoint, incTease the lineal feet of beach. The exten-
sion would .be a non-'contiguous extensi~n,'basically, of a facil-
ity that is alseady in exiStence. I do understand that it would
12-20~65
"be proposed perhaps, to ha~.e some picnic tables.and,other
facilities there, but basically, you would be paying for 'the
beach and you have a very fine long beach now. Let's look at
the arithmet~e-'-of the matter. Once again, I am given to under-
stand that the City has entered into validation proceedings and
has indeed caused bonds to be validated i~ the amount of
$1,200,000. As I understand it, there is a-first priority or
%ome mention made of the existing beach erosion problem and I
~nave looked at the beach, and I am sure you gentlemen are much
more familiar with the problems in that regard than I am. But
it seems clear that the reason you are acquiring the 1250 feet
is for the protection of the property in the area, the protec-
tion of the roa~;--and eventual nourishment and use of this beach.
From looking at the existing one mile of this beach, it~%eems
clear that if something is not done there soon, you are going to
have additional problems. You've had'some problems there. It's
'just a question of time and the erosion process seems to be work-
ing sound. I' had the pleasure of working for a very short time
with the Coastal Engineering Laboratory of the University of
Florida. I-don't claim~by any means to be an expert on the sub-
ject. I know just enough about it to know that it is an expen-
sive proposition. I understand that perhaps an engineering con-
tract for some design work has been let for approximately 4,000
feet of seawall at an approximate cost'of $190.00 per foot. If
this construction was to be done, and it probably needs to be
done, then you are talking about spending about $800,000. In
looking-at the arithme~i~ if you spend $800,000. to protect
this present valuable asset that you have, and it is a valuable
asset, and if you spend $400,000. to purchase this other pro-
perty, you now have your entire $1,200,000. tied up in beach.
I haven't taken into consideration any additional costs, con-
struction costs for example, for improving the $400,000. site,
and I haven't taken 'into consideration attorneys' fees, the
bond fees, '~tc., that are going to come Off of this $1,200,000.
I am using approximate figures, but I think you can see that if
you do the job that ~he engin~ers are-apparently proposing to
be done, you are going to have a prcDlem of money. .Now, I under-
stand that this same validation case als~ contains some priority
or some mention of a Senior ~itizens or an Adult Recreation Cen-
ter for some $100,000. Further, I believe there has been some
discussion in regard to the City's needs for a Police facilitY,
a new police and jail facility. I thinkif you~are realistic
and face-this thing on the face of it, and look at the arith-
metic involved, you.can see if you protect the a~sets that you
have now to the extent they should be protecte~ and if you then
buy this.beach, there is simply not going to~ ~nough money to
provide %his Adult Recreation Center. There is not going to be
enough money to provid~this Police Sta.t~...on.~Ea~lity, and you
ar~ going tO be back in a few years or a'~u~e.Df years and come
to the people again to somehow raise'~~ t~nese facilities.
If, on the other hand, you dO not take care of the beach you have
now, and spend say $300,000. Or $400,000. for the erosion pro-
cesses, erosion control processes, and the $400,000. for the
beach purchase, and you'build your otherfacilities, your police
complex for.mxample~'and your adult recreation center, you are
liable to be back to the people again in a couple of years for
more money for sea walls, beach nourishment, so it seems to me
if you look-at this thing on th~ face of it, real~sticallyl you
have got a' tremendous problem of mol~ey. All of these projects
are certainly wonderful and-if we had the money to sRend on all
of them, I am sure the citizens of Delray would be only too
h~ppy to see them all accomplished. But it seems'to' me'that
this analysis alone, this question of the ari~hme~i¢,~should
raiae at least some question in your'mined. Some' reasonable
doubt, perhaps, of the wisdom of going korward at this time.
I em not tr~ to argue that this isn't a worthwhile v~uY~.
¥ -7~ 12-20-~5 .
"It may ~.ery well be{ What I am saying is ~hat there is at
least some questio~., some small question, as to what a~e we
goin~ t.o go if. we spend .all this money and it keeps eroding,
and what are. we going to do when that erosion moves another
mile or two south and hits the 400 foot section. It seems to
me .that people should have these facts presented to them, that
the ca~rds should be laid on .the table, and the people should
have some voice, some right to be heard, and make some decision
in the matter. I think that some of you are probably in favor
of buying this beach and some of you are opposed to it, on this
you cannot agree, but I think you all could agree, and can agree,
and probably should agree in the right of the people to have some
decision making power in a matter of th~s significance and
volving this amount of money. Obviously, the public cannot be
queried and questioned every time you decide to buy a new gar-
bage truck and decide what time a day you are going, to run the
garbage truck, but on matters of important significance, on mat*
ters that in---ye not only the particular question, b~t have so
many interlocking re~ationships with other questions.~ and involve
recreational facilities in general, involve the police facilities,
involve the whole beach picture, it seems to me that this is a
matter of some significance and some moment, and perhaps a pause
should be taken and the people allowed to express themselves in
the matter .and be of assistance to you. I think sometimes we
tend to get rather cynical and, I know ! plead guilty to being
very criticml sometimes'of the government, and it seems in par-
ticular tha. t I find myself being critical of the Federal Govern-
ment.. Sometimes I don"t like the way they are spending the
money or the peop.le they are giving it to, perhaps. I think
we te~d to get a little sense of frustration sometimes because
the government is too big or the government is so far away that
we don"t seem to be~. able' to make any progress and our voice
doesn~e seem to cou~t too 'much in Washington sometimes. Yet, on
a .world-wide scale I don't think we can, and I don't think we
can go to Washington and take a. poll every time on every partic-
ular issue, but we are talking about local government in the
City of Delrsy Beach, and it seems tO me that the government
that- is the closest to the people and m~.st responsive, to the
wishes "and directions of the ~eople is going to be the govern-
ment that is the most respective and is the most representative
of the peo~ple, and I would like to see the people have some par-
ticipa.tion in the matter. .-I think you have a moral commitment.
I think you have a ~entlemen's.agreement and I think your
gest gentlemen's agreement is to-the people of Delray Beach. I
think this iS a moral commitment, that thais is a moral obliga-
tio~ a.n~. a gentlemen's agreement which, should and does override
any-other agreement in that respect, It is my unde~standing
that the City Charter would allow s straw vote or some other
system of public expressing its pri?rity or preference as to
one. facility over the other, or expressing a yes or no for any
particular issue. ~ think this matte~ could be brought to the
public in the December election or sPY other election, presented
to them at little or no cost to the City Of Delray Beach, and
think that this would be of benefit to' th~. people and to you
gentlem~n on the Commission. i don't thin]% it has to become a
po~litical footbaI1, and as I said before, I don't think it should
be. I think the best way. to lay the politi~al fog~t~a!1 to zest
would be to hand it to the P~op!~ and let the peoBle decide 'what
peeds, to ~e done and !et the '~an~i~ates agree, and the Present
members of the ~Ouncil ag~re~ .to a~ide by the mandate of the
pe~ple~ ! would be ~qst b~PPY to~discuss it with you insofar
as"I a~ ab~e'~ ' ~ app'~eC[at&"'your very courteous attention and
Z ea~",e, st~¥',hope that you Will give this matter serious con-
sideration.~ Thank you."
12-20-65
Mr. Benjamin said that he felt the Petition that was presented by
Attorney Royce at that time with approximately 162 signatures on it
should be mentioned as a matter of record in this meeting, and con-
tinue~=' "I would like to state.that every single resident of the
Grosvenor House that were there were on that ~etition, 27, ~think,
that were not in favor of this beach~ I understand also"thQse at 'the
Manor House, and at that time, Mr. Tiernan, who owns the '1~45 ~uild-
ing, and myself., which are probably the biggest taxpayera.on the
beach."
Mr. Saunders asked Mr. Benj.ami~
the people, and the people deui~e~ thai they"-w~e~i t=.;
· down there, wou~d you people go alQng w£th it" a~d: n~t have a~y liti-
gation on it, 'or would not oppose it?"
Mr. Benjamin said he would have t~. ta~k to. t~-eCommittee; and Mr.
Saunders said. he would like to have'Mr. Be~'amin's personal feeling
- on his quest~. Mr. Benjamin s&id ~is personal feeling~'is that he
bought the property close to the pr~.os~d beach with the deed re-
striction~ on it, and his personal ~eling is that he is opposed to
it. Further, if the people of th'e towna11 Said they wanted the beach
purchased, he would have to think about'-that.
Mr. Benjamin pointed out that if the beach was no~ purchased, Mr.
Aubinoe does want to build condominiums on his property, a~d'probably
in a short time, the several hundred feet to the south would be pur-
chasmd~for condominiums or high-rise apartments, and would b~ the.best
exp~D~ion, t0":the City. and would bring revenue to th~ city an~'a tre~'.
mend0~s amount of money to' the merchants of Delray Beach~"i ' -- '
Mr. Jurn'ey asked if'Mayor Avery would get a count of the pe6ple in
~the audience' who are opposed to and who are agreeable to the ~cquisi-
tion of'said-beach, and City Clerk Worthing counted 23 who.are opposed
to said purchase, and one in favor of the acquisition. There were a
few individuals present who did not vote.
City Clerk Worthing read the petition, 'with 162 signatures, that
had been 'presented b~ Attorney Ro~ue,, as follows:
"We,. the .~n~e~signed taxpayers of Delray Beach,~are opposed to
the .~uxchase of ,.4~0 ~eet of additic~nal beach without a public
· re f~rendum:"
. Mayor Avery asked that ~he ci~¥,~erk read t he"following '"OPinion
~n Legality of Beach Purchase!' by ,~.~t~Attorney, dated December
13th, 1965:
"This letter is responsive to.~Qur reques~ that · ~eview a
letter, dated December ~ ~9~', ~ .the ~ty ~1 from Mr.
Due t~ the fact that M~. Be~jamin~s group ha~ ~ot only ~threat~
ened, but has almost promised litiga$~ if ~hiS property is
purchased, I have exhaustively res99F~d t~e problem in an
~ttemPt to ascertaia what the pr~bab!s resul~ 'of such litigation
would~.
As you know, there is nothing in the law to prevent a taxpayer
from instituting such proceedings so regardless of my opinion
that the group Woul~ be fighting a futile cause, I am obligated
to caution you ther~ will be costs to the City in the event
pr~ceedings are .~ommenced,
My answers to the three posi~ioDs advanced in Mr. Benjamin's
letter are, in chronological or, er, as follows:
1. The expenditure of public funds for such a purpose is PrO-
per. Naturally, the final decision as to whether it is a wise
~dec~s~io~ i's for tM f~ty Council to make. Once made, 'how-
e~er, ~t is ~ega-lly urLa~sai~able s~nce :.leg~!att~e an~ policy
mak~ng~e~~ ~ave very. w~e~ l~ti~u~. ~n ~'~ing what ~s
for citizens so, long as ~he exPendi~ure .._~s legally prier.
2. -~e purchsse of an ocean~=ont park~ iS sp~ically mention,
ed as an-apprOve~ e~enditure ~. ~e:.pro~ed8 of the-~1965 C~ga-
re,re Tax Bond Resolution, ~'an~ the Bon~s :have been va~i~ated by
the Palm B~ach County Circuit Court. ~e is~no
~at the park be in ~e City I~mits, but as a practical ~tter,
~t'is located where '~t can ~ legally annexed, and I.feel certain
tha~ the'C~ty Counc~l"~d w~sh ~o annex ~ property i~e~iately
fo~lo~ng the ~nsum~tion of ~he purchase.
3, ~e reelections o~=~e proper~y, which are allu~ed to
his lbt%~r, e~pire Japery 1, 1970, an~ rea~ as
u~e;~said premises shall be used only for'one or ~ore
~f the foll~ing purpose= ho~els., Cl~s, ~ar~ent
houses, mo~ls, villas, cabanas, ~t~ges, shopping
cen~ers,' and/or =e~dences, ~g~er w~ customary-
and ~ccepte~: app~na~t us~~
As you will note, these are extremely broad restrictions, and
'~ ~t WOuid ~ logical that a court ~l~-'f~ ~at a ~aoh an~/
or park use ~uld be a ousto~ry a~ a~pted appurtenant use
to a cabana which, again, ~s a very broad ~rd.
Not being satis~ie~ with JuBt logic upon which to base th~s
opinion, I wen~ fur~er: and uncovered a 1955 Florida Supreme
Court case which hold8.~ among other things,. ~at su~ re-
' st~i~ive ~ven~ts ca~o~ be enforced a~nst a p~l~u body.
~e case arose ~n conjunct~ w~th a s~ool board's ~8~re ~o
use restricted property, but ~n my opinion, the ~aent~cal
th~ry ~uld hol'd true ~n-t~ case of a-municipality wishing
to use restricted property ~ p~-lic ~pu~ses.
I will be happy to go into more ae~ail on ~e ~eory
the ~urt*s~ holdi~ at your re~eot~ but ~sically, the reason-
ing is ~at since all property is hel~ 's~bJ.ect to ~e ~r of
e~inent ~o~n, ~ restrictions ~re not in~naed to a~ly
a~ainet p~lic improve~nts. Fur~er, ,~e co~t has also state~
~at abutt~n~ ~ro ~ul~ have'-no c~ensable ~n~rest s~nce
~ould place ~n intolerable burden on ~e public to ha~ ~o con-
de~ any'such ~nterest8.
To ~ c~Pletely cau~ous, I s~m~'~d'~s problem to a west
Palm ~a~ a~to~ney'.Who has represente~ saveral c~tieo.' At my
re~est~ 'he researched the problem ~epen~ent of my work, an~
=e~he~ an ~en~ical "conclusion."
~. Ben~am~n~:sa~ he.baa reaa ~e case c~e~ by t~ City Attorney
aha disuussed'same with iegal uo~s~, ~a~ ~at he would l~ke to bring
up a ~estion. A question of a. $~1 b~se' ~n Bal ~rbor, ~
Dade County ~nted to put a s~oo~ .house ~and it had deed restrictions
During com~nts about the cou=a ~ase c~d by the C~tF Attorney
his opin~o~, and .~e ~est~on of a necessity an~ an eminent ~omain,
~. Benjamin eat~ the problem Of what ~s~ty is and eminent aomain
~s a very ~cklish-problem, and continued= "~ere we have 6400 feet
of beach a~d this 400 feet, this problem o~ nucessity of .where
ters ~n em~ent ~omain----an~ in talking to ~. C. D. Russell, who used
to be counsel for~B. F. ~odrich. this is h~s opinion in talking about
~hen ~t comes up to a legal matter. I just bring you up the co~n
sense problem that ~uld' come in. ~ere.does ~e power stop of a
Coun~l t~at Just ~oes an~h~ng that ~t
-10-
City Attorney Adams said that in-carefully researching the..
Law, he hasn't found a case_more in point~ and feel~ it is perfectly
legal, but the decision i,s up to the.-C0unc$1 as-to whether-they' will
l~urchase Raid beach property. ..
Mr. Talbot commented as follows: . '.~For the record, I would like to
first say:'that the ~ouncil 'was originally, offered 500 feet of beach,
and as.~ the Council knows, ~here were two owners involved. The C~uncil
reje~.O~'~, the .100 £eet of beach which lies to-the south of the 40~' feet
beiWg, ~Onsidere~. ' '
il~o for the record, I Would like to say that the ~ity does not
h&v~' ~400 feet of be~ch~ · It has oue mil~, 5280 or. approximately there-
o~ .~ere seems to be the"assu_mption by the public that the. City is
all' Set to acquire ~1254) feet from the Wecker seawall., which, is
identified as Section II' in the Beach Rehabilitation Program, and
which stops at the .ehd of Beach Drive or the beginning" of the public
beach. There is nothing definite that this beach property will be in-
cluded · in .the rehabilitation program, and if it isn't included in the
rehabilitation program; it. will not-be City property.. My personal
opinion at this time,.,.for what it may be worth, ~ don't think Section
II will be included in the Beach Rehabilitation Pmogram. f=0m the in-
formation I have now. So, in talking public beach frontage, you can
only consider the mile of public beach that the City has now."
Mr. J~,a~¥ stressed ~he- fact that he did ~ot--want peo le to be of
· ~-bP opinion that he is-against the Purchase' 'of said' beach' asa POliti-
]c.~.[/ i~Sue,' 'but the.{ he i'~:'aga[~s2' s~d: '~hrc'hase becauSe he feeis 'it is
~S~'!.~tely '~necessary for '~e 'city.` of Delr'ay' Bea~ to 'sPend '$40'0, 000.
~o'r" 400' feet of beach that'[s not contiguous to our own one mile of
present bea. ch~ 'further' in addition to the purchase of the beach, in
the 'fujtu're 'ther, e will have to be bui~.ldings i~!~ced upon. sa~id property,
which wilI,. Without' a .doub. t, add additional Cost to the~Ci~ of .~elray
Beach a'nd the' '~xpayers of Delray' Beach, which will .inevitably m~ke a
higher ~tax m!.l~age ~ate,
Mr. Jurney sai~ .he wo~ld like to. condu¢% a tour for anY. one who
would like to accompan~ him,. and he would show them many place~ 'where
$4001000. could do so much more good than for beach purchaS.e¥ further,
that be has recently observed areas in the City that, without $ do'ubt,
will in the future 'b6come slum areas, 'and explained more abuut' said
.~re~s i'll detai~'.
~W. Jurney 'also mentioned the need of sidewalks and the 'need of
g~satn9 the. parkways fora better appearance.
Mrl Jurney insisted that the,Council please drive around the City
and see the' differen[ ,places said money could be. spe~t~more advantage-
o:usly for the Ci{y, befor~ they d~cide h,ow 'to spend-'.Said $4~q,000. and
tO spend the money where' it would do the most good to stop the encroach-
ment of. Slum areas going easterly.
Mr~ Jurney said there..is plenty of acreage that can be turned into
parks, and referFed to an offer of George S. MQrikami to give a forty
acr~. tract:'of' l~nd te t~ c~t~ .a~g!ft.; ~sub~t to such
-used' for public parks and ~imtlar,.-purposes, and feels that. the City of
Delray Beach could try to hatgh his generosity;by spending some of the
$400., 000. ~ut there to mak~ a ~rart for the. things that ha.V~ been.',out-
lined as needed.'.
Mr. Saunders said he is in favor of the beach purmhase and feels
it is well worth, the money, and now.is ,the time ~for ~%e City to buy
if they ever intend to buy more bea~h propert¥~ th~lze feels confi-
dent the majority o.f' the peopl9 i~ tow~ want said ~k~h. ~ t~at the
CounCil has-given ihe'i=' word to purchase said bea~' ~nd, he w6uld not
like to 'go back 'on'.h!;s wordl .further, if the beach purchase was put to
a referendum of the people, all of the =spiral improvements should be
put to a referendUm also.
Mr. Jurney said he did no~ feet there, r~se~d to be ~e referendum on
the other Capital Improvement- Projects, ~uch as a po.$ic~ C~plex and a
-11- 12-'20-65
266
Re'creation Complex in-the' C.ity Park, as observation shows' they are
necessary~ further, -'.~hat a~-.f~rst,, he ~..~=e~se~~ ~at he ~s ~n
favor of ~e bea~ bu~ ha~ ~anged h~s m~n~ an~ ~oes not n~ th~
it should be
~.-Carl ~0des said he could see nothing ~ong w~-~ Jurney
changing his~ m~nd a~ut the ~ach an~ as~d ~. Saunters if. he
c~nge his mind about ~e beach purchase even ~ough he ~
himself on ~me~
~. sa~nders sa~d~ that~he st~l~ considered the~beach a~go~ buy
for ~e C~ty, and ~u~.vote ~e ~y ~at he had ~itted h~elf~
~-~yor Avery explained as~ ~ollows= "For ~ur' in~rma~i~n an~
the lis~ning p~l~ic, ~s that ~e entire. Council ~ the ~ers
represen~ve, ~n-lieu of cas~, we sa~ ~t we ~t ~ave the money
now bu%. contingent u~n our ~ng~able to float a ~ad' ~sS~ ~ g~ve
you our.. word of honor_~hat it is a deal, so ~e ~er~~ repreSen~t~ve
calle~ the o~ers an~e o~ers agreed to'take Covncil ~=~-in l~eu
of cash, an~ remove~ ~e 9roperty f. ro~ the market."
~f~ ~J~ney sa~ ~at he ~ near told ~. Robert Gracey, ~o
represents the ~ers of the beach prope~y, that he ~uld"g~ve
~r~ fo= ~e purchase o~ sa~d '~a~. an~ that at the
~nt~ to make a deposit on sa~d ~ach~'property, he had stated
~lbot and to ~. Grac~y that he ~s not ~n favor of the purchase of
she beach, and continued: "~en I stated that to you, it ~s so~-
where-around' June, and I have n~ver sa~d that I ~uld purchase ~at
beach only for the put,se of obtain~ng ~p~tal Improvement money."
~. Bob ~nkead said that from t~e to t~me, t~e City has"h~red
~n~ to reco~end planning, zoning and th~nqs of th!~ t~e, and that a
City Planner has been hire~, and asked if ~. George A. S~mons,
or an~ne else has g~ven an opinion ~ ~e beach ~hase.
Mr. Jurney said that ~. Simons had been-h~rgd to u~ate the .'1962
comprehensive plan for Delray ~ach, and ~ vie~ Of what was received
for the am~nt of money Sp~t, feels that a be~ter J~b can be
here. ·
~. Talbot said he ha~ ~e privilege an~ pleasure of 'atten~ng'a
meeting of the Association for the Preservation of ~aches~ a State-
wide organ~zation, whi~ has beco~ very ~tive ~'t~ Tehabilitat~on
of beaches, sponsoring gover~enta[ money for ~sa~ both State and
FederaI, a~ in ~ing to various people attending sa~ mee~ing[
being f~rom coast1 cites, ~ey all had ~n mind, wherever possible,
to aoqu~e :addit:~o~l .~ach ~n addition to rehab~l~tating ~eir pre-
sen2 beach~ f~ther, ~at he ~s for the purchase of the bea~.
~. ~lbot th~n ~sked ~at '~y Clerk ~rthi~ read ~euPurchase
Agreement, a~ sa~ ~s read. (C~y OE said ~opOsed Pu~Ohaae agree-
ment is attach~ to the of~icial-~c~py of these m~utes)See p~es ~68-A-~.
~. Jurney asked ~f tb~ $20,000. de~s~t has been paid'to the
Broker for the purchase of th~s ~nd, and ~s informed that it had
not been paid.
City Attorney Adams explained as follows~ "~y I make a Statement?
· No~%ng h~s been..pa~d~ Nothing has b~en legally done ~n ~e ~y of
co~ents or an~, Mr. Juicy, and I hope everybody understands
~hat ~s is the .~ ~ you are ~r°ving th~s."
~y~= Ave~' 9xp~ained that ~hat ~$ read is a proceed
Agreem~t.
~. Talbot moved that the -~yor ~d O~ty c~rk be auth~zed to
execa~e the ag~eme.~t, which ~s just read~ for t~ p~chage of 400
-12- 12-20-65
feet of beach property and to deposit $20,000. as earnest money pur-
suant to the contract~ said money to be reimburse~i,f=om:the Ctg&~t~e
Tax Bond proceeds. The motion was se¢onded, b~Mr. Saunder~
Mr. Jurney said he thought the purpose of this~ meeting w~s to more
or less get the opinions of the taxpayers of the City of De,ray Beach
and to try. tO fulfill the wishes of the voters, taxpayers a~d u~tizens
of Delray-Beach~ further, tha~ ~e-objects to the motion..
It was explained that this meeting was deoided upon at the last
regular Council meeting, and was ca11~ for th~-purpose of?considering
possible acquisition of addi~ional beach property.
During. discussion, city Attorney-Adams explained that the-reason
the Co~k~acts h~e been prepared is tha~ if the c~.uncil-wishes to buy
said p~,~operty, it isadvisable that it be boug~thefore-the~end of this
.yem~ ~e co~t'racts executed before the end of the.year,, a~,'-that
woul~ ~e some four thousand dollars in C~unty.taxes,-further, that
man~ ~cuments are prepared that are ne.ver.-acted upon. ~ · .
Mr.'Robert Gracey, as the Broker in this transaction, said that it
is perfectly ~ormal, prope=-a~-custom~ry for theseller to, present to
a p=osp~ctive buyer a contract+ and in. this case, e copF of said con-
tract w~.¢ furnished to the City Attorney for his perusal before this
meeting to intelligently advise the Council whether or. not it is a pro-
per, legal and acceptable document for the Council to accept.
Mx. ~erdtnand Hartman said that-in listehing to all that'has~been
said, he felt he should say that he is not opposed-to the spending of
$400,000., bmr that he is personally opposed to the spending of it for
said beach, and commented further on his views~
Upon call of.roll that the Mayor-and City Clerk be authorized to
execute the agreement for the purchase of.said beach, Mx. Croft, Mx.
Saunders,.-Mr. Talbot and Mayor Avery voted in favor of the motion, and
Mr. Jurney was opposed,
Mrs° Rose Prod1 Wil~ said that she had asked many times that a 25
mile. an hour speed sign be installed on ~er street as cars speed by at
excessive speed even at 4:00 A.M. and disturbs.their sleep. Also, that
dogs disturb them from 2:00 to ,4:00 A.M~, and with repeated calls to
the Police Department,-nothing has been done.
Mrs. Will mentioned the unsightly condition-of the rights-of-way
in..the town, and asked if something-could be done to improve that con-
dition, and also mentioned the fact that there must he-.chickens kept
within town in that area~on account of the disturbance they make in the
early morning hours,
Mrs.. Will informed the Council that she had asked the Police Depart~
ment to itake fingerprints at her house ,after a :.theft had ooc~rred and
had been told they could net come out.
Mayor Avery asked Mrs. Will. to lea~e the proper address s~d the-
City Manager would c~neck all of ~id complaints, and since the~ co~-
p~aints ha~e. been made by a-'uitizen_i~ f~on~ of the:~ouncil~' the Council
wou.L~ a%ke a re~ort on the findi~gso
F~T~o Will said that she had been here for 18 years .and thinks Delray
:Bm&~h is the most wonderful town and that it used to be kept cleaner
't~a~" it is today.
~it~.~an~er Gatchel r~minded the Council that they. had knowledge
~ &~d ha~. 9~en their approval of the transfer of. the Parks Departme~',?
fr~m the Depar.~me~t of Public Works to the Department of Recreation fo~,
a ~%ne~Depa~tment of Recreation and Parks, and announced that there
wou~ b9 a ~u~..~ic announcement of same at 10:00 A.M., Tuesday, December
14th,~a%,"~he';~a~, Division headquarters at the City Nursery, and they'
were ~D~it~d ~o aptCnd s~aid announcement ceremony.
APPROX, D :'~-'~'- . ' ,. - ... '. R.'CiTyD, CLERK'WORTHIN~
368-~
AGREEME~ FOR PURCHASE.
~{IS AGREEMENT, made and entered into this day of
· 1965, by and betweenNANC¥ M. RODGERS and COWAN
ROI~EP~S, JR., her husband, of the County of Knox, State of
Tennessee, and MARGARET M. WHITE (formerly Margaret An~ Mc~illan
Joined by her husband, WILLIAM A. WHITE, of the County of Hamlltol
State of ~nnessee, hereinafter referred to as the Sellers, and
the CITY OF DEI~Y BEACH, a municipal corporation existing under
the laws of the State of Florida· in Palm Beach County· State of
Florida, hereinafter referred to as the Purchaser,
WITNESSETH:
1. For and in consideration of the payments made and the mutual
promises hereinafter contained the Sellers agree to sell and
conv~7 to the Purchaser and the Purchaser agrees to buy from
the Sellers, on the terms herein stated, the following des-
cribed properties free and clear of all encumbrances except
as may hereinafter be specifically set forth:
PARCEL #1. Owned and to be conveyed by NANC~
~ and C~AN RODGERS· JR., her hus-
band, said property being located in Palm
Beach County, Florida, and being described
as follows:
All that part of the North one hundred (100)
feet of the South four hundred (400) feet
of the North four thousand six hundred eighty
(4680) feet of Section 21, Township 46 South,
Range 43 East, which part is bounded on the
West by the Easterly boundary line of the
right-of-way of State Road AiA (formerly
State Road 140), and on the East by the
waters of the Atlantic Ocean; together with
all littoral rights on the Atlantic Ocean
thereunto belonging or in anywise appertain-
ing.
SU~ECT to zoning ordinances applicable there-
to and restrictive covenants as set forth in
Deed Book 945, page 470 and in Deed Book 9~6·
pate 204; also taxes subsequent to the year
1965.
~. Owned and to be conveyed by
M~RET M. WHITE (formerly Margaret Anne
Mc~illan) Joined Oy her husband, WILLIAM A.
WHITE, said property being located in Palm
Beach County, Florida, and being described
as follows:
Ail that part of the South three hundred
(300) feet of the Nort~ four thousand six
hundred eighty (4680) feet of Section 21,
~k)wnshlp 46 South, Range g3 E~st, which
part is bounded on the West by the Easterly
boundary line of the right-of-way of State
ROad No. A1A (formerly State Road No. 1~0),
and on the East by the waters of the Atlantic
Ocean; together with all littoral rights on
the Atlantic Ocean thereunto belonging or
in anywise appertaining.
SUBJECT to zoning ordinances applicable
thereto and restrictive covenants as set
forth in Deed Book 945. page 470 and in
Deed Book 946, page 208; also taxes subse-
quent to the year 1965.
2. The purchase price is Four Hundred Thousand ($400,000) Dollar~
payable:
$20,000.00 paid to the Sellers on the signing of
this agreement, by check subject to collection,
the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, to
be held in escrow by Gracey Bros., Realtors, of
Delray Beach, Florida, until the closing of this
transaction or as otherwise provided herein.
The balance of $B80,0OO.00 in cash or by Cashier's
or Certified Check on delivery of the deed as
hereinafter provided.
3. Taxes for the year 1965 are to be paid by the Sellers. Taxes
for the year 1966, if any, are to be paid by the Purchaser.
On or before 20 days from the date hereof the Sellers shall
furnish and deliver to the Purchaser, or its attorney, an
Abstract of Title to the subject real properties certified
subsequent to the date hereof. If the abstract evidences
marketable titles in the Sellers to their respective Parcels,
free from encumbrances not herein specified, this transaction
shall be closed and title passed as provided in paragraph 5
hereof.
If either or both of the titles are found to be not good and
marketable in fact and free from encumbrances not herein
specified, written notice of the defects so found shall be
delivered in writing to the Sellers by the Purchaser, or
its attorney, on or before 10 days after delivery of .the
Abstract of Title. The Sellers shall then make every
reasonable effort to cure defects of title and shall have
a period of 60 days so to do. The closing of this trans-
action shall be postponed, if necessary, until the end of
said 60 day period allowed for the perfecting of titles.
If, at the end of said period, the titles to both Parcels
1 and 2 are not made good and marketable in fact and free
from encumbrances not herein specified, unless the Pur-
chaser shall agree in writing to accept the titles in
their then existing conditions, this agreement shall be-
come null and void and the sum paid by the Purchaser, as
above recited, shall be refunded to the Purchaser.
If the Purchaser shall default in the performance of this
Agreement, the Sellers may, in lieu of other remedies,
elect to retain the deposit paid by the Purchaser as
liquidated damages for such default, and the Purchaser
shall have no further right or interest in the properties.
5, It is understood that this property is to be purchased with
monies to be received by the City of Delray Beach from the
sale of the Cigarette Tax Bonds of 1965. This transaction
is therefore subject to the sale of said bonds and receipt
by the Purchaser of the proceeds therefrom. If, for any
reason, the sale of said bonds is not made on or before
'January 16th, 1966 and the proceeds therefrom not received
by the Purchaser in the due course of business, but not
later than February 1st, 1966, either of the parties
hereto shall have the election of rescinding this Con-
tract by written notice to the other, in which event the
sum paid by the Purchaser, as above recited, shal1 be re-
funded and the rights and liabilities of the parties here-
to shall cease. The Purchaser does, however, agree to uss
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368-C
reasonable diligence in bringing about the sale of said bo~ds
and receipt by it of the proceeds of the sale within the
times above stated.
The Purchaser shall, upon receipt of the proceeds of said
bond sale, so notify the Sellers in writing and the closing
of this transaction shall be on or before l0 days therefrom.
6. All notices, tenders and deliveries herein mentioned shall
be served, made and received as follows:
As to the Sellers: At the office of Gracey Bros.
#505 E. Atlantic Avenue,
Delray Beach, Florida.
As to the Purchaser: At the office of the City Clerk,
City Hall,
Delray Beach, Florida.
The closing of this transaction 'shall be at the law offices
of ~acMillan, Newett and Adams, 29 N. E. 4th Avenue, Delray
B~ach, Florida.
7. The Sellers, on receiving payment as herein provided, shall
deliver to the Purchaser Warranty Deeds in usual forms,
with proper documentary stamps affixed, conveying to the
Purchaser the fee simple titles to their respective parcels,
8. This agreement shall not be assigned without the written
consent of the Sellers as it is understood the purchase
price is based upon sale to this particular purchaser and
would not be applicable to a third party buyer.
9. Possession of the property shall be delivered to the Fur-
chaser upon the full execution of this Agreement and the
Purchaser shall immediately have the right of using the
properties as a municipal bathing and recreational beach,
Provided, however, the contour of the land shall not be
changed, nor shall seagrapes, trees or other major land-
scaping be destroyed or removed. In the event this trans-
action should not, for any reason, be closed, the Purchaser
shall immediately remove from the premises any improvements
placed thereon, and the properties shall be re-delivered to
the Sellers in as near their existing condition as is reason-
ably possible, casualties and acts of God excepted.
The Purchaser agrees to protect, indemnify and hold harm-
less the said Sellers against any and all claims or suits
for or on account of any injury to persons or property
that may occur as a result of the Purchaser's use of the
premises.
The rights conveyed and the obligations incurred under this
paragraph shall terminate upon the closing of this trans-
action.
10. Gracey Bros. are the recognized real estate brokers who
brought about this transaction and commission shall be
paid by the Sellers to Gracey Bros. at the closing of this
368-D
transaction. The Purchaser h~s no liability for brokerage
commission.
11. This Agreement shall be binding upon the heirs, executors,
administrators, successors and assigns of the respective
parties.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have hereunto set
their hands and seals.
(CORPORATE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH
SEAL) BY:
~i. C. Avery,~ Mayor
AT, ST:
R. D. Worthing, City Clerk
Signed, sealed and deliv-~
ered in the presence of )
~ahcy ~'.'Bodgers
,(L. )
Cowan Rodgers, Jr.
)
'~argaret"M. White
" William A. White
The undersigned hereby acknowledge receipt of the deposit
of $20,000 referred to in the foregoing agreement, and
agree to serve as Escrow Agents and to hold and disburse
this deposit as therein provided.
GRACEY BROS.
BY:
STATE OF FLOPIDA )
COUNTY OF PALM BEACH
I HEREBY CERTIFY, that on this day, before me personally
appeared AL. C. AVERY and R. D. WORTHING, respectively Mayor and
City Clerk of the City of Delray Beach, a municipal corporation
under the laws of ~he State of Florida, to me known to be the per-
sona described in and who executed the foregoing Agreement for
Purchase and severally acknowledged the execution thereof to be
their free act and deed as such officials, for the uses and pur-
poses therein mentioned; and that they affixed thereto the officia
seal of said municipal corporation.
WITNESS my hand and official seal at De!ray Beach, in the
County of Palm Beach and State of Florida, this day of
, 1965.
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368-E
STATE OF TENNESSEE
COUNTY OF
I HEREBY CERTIFY, That on this day, before me, an officer
duly authorized in the State aforesaid and in the County afore-
said to take acknowledgments, personally appeared NANCY M. RODOER:
and COWAN RODGERS, JR., to me known to be the persons described
in and who executed the foregoing instrument and they acknowledge(
that they executed the same.
WITNESS my hand and official seal in the County and State
last aforesaid this day of , A. D. 1965.
Notary PuOlic,
My commission expires:
STATE OF TENNESSEE )
COUNTY OF
'I HEREBY CERTIFY, That on this day, before me, an officer
duly authorized in the State aforesaid and in the County afore-
said to take acknowledgments, personallp appeared MARGARET M.
WHITE and WILLIAM A. WHITE, to me known to be the persons des-
cribed in and who executed the foregoing instrument and they
acknowledged before me that they executed the same.
WIT~NrESS my hand and official seal in the County and State
last aforesaid this day of , A. D. 1965.
Notary Public,
.,My commission expires:
-5-