In a wide-ranging address to the Citizens’ Association of Palm Beach Thursday, Mayor Danielle Moore identified several key issues as top priorities for residents in the town’s South End.
As part of her State of the Town address at the association’s 2025 annual meeting at the Tideline Ocean Resort & Spa, Moore discussed traffic, water quality, Phipps Ocean Park redevelopment and other matters that were relevant to residents living south of Sloan’s Curve. The Citizens’ Association represents the interests of those residents.
Moore highlighted traffic congestion as the most pressing issue, with South End residents feeling its impact the most. She noted that the periodic closure of South Ocean Boulevard near Mar-a-Lago has made it difficult for South End residents to get to the center of town.
“When the Mar-a-Lago road is open, there is a 23% decrease in traffic on the north bridge and a 16% decrease on the middle bridge,” she told guests. “So we know that affects not only the general town, but the way you all from the South End get to the main part of town. And we feel your pain. We understand where you’re coming from. We miss seeing you in the main part of town. It’s hard to get there.
“But this is just the fact of where we are. We don’t have really any control of that whatsoever. There is a goal by the Secret Service to protect our most famous resident, and there’s nothing we can do about it. But we are working to help mitigate the traffic.” Moore pointed to efforts by council member Lew Crampton and Council President Bobbie Lindsay to create a parking and traffic program for the town, and she also highlighted the town’s new planning, zoning, and building department software that allows for online applications, which has eased traffic at Town Hall.
“Town Hall can be complicated,” she said. “So anything that decreases traffic in Midtown is a good thing.”
Other issues highlighted by Moore include: • Phipps Ocean Park revitalization: At its February meeting, the town council awarded a nearly $31 million contract to West Palm Beach-based Burkhardt Construction Inc. for its work on the Phipps Ocean Park overhaul.
The project will include enhanced recreational facilities, native landscape restoration, a coastal restoration center, and a new location for the Little Red Schoolhouse. The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach is spearheading the park’s redevelopment and will pay for the bulk of the project, which includes tennis center renovations and improvements to the lifeguard station there.
Council members called the project “transformative” at their meeting last month, and Moore reiterated that sentiment Thursday.
“It’s going to be amazing,” she said. “With that comes an upgrade to the tennis facility and the addition of two pickleball courts. I think some people are happy about pickleball.” • Water contract: The town will continue to consider a choice of providers to supply water to the island once its current agreement with the city of West Palm Beach ends on Oct. 1, 2029, Moore said.
After reviewing six options provided by environmental consultant Kimley-Horn in 2022, the town narrowed its list to two: continuing the current water-supply contract with the city of West Palm Beach and collaborating on a membrane-technology upgrade at its treatment plant; and contracting with the city of Lake Worth Beach to provide water. Moore said the council is carefully weighing both options, though a possible third option could be back on the table.
If more discussion is needed, the town could extend its existing contact with West Palm Beach, Moore said.
“We have a possibility of two five-year extensions, so we want to get it right,” Moore said. “There is nothing more important to your elected officials than getting it right, and this is a life safety issue for us. We believe that water is sort of the foundation of our lives. We want to make sure we get it right, and we’re committed to that.”
• Undergrounding: The town is nearing completion on its 10-year, $128 million town-wide project to bury all overhead, electrical, phone and cable television lines.
All of the project’s 15 construction zones are either complete or funded for construction, according to the town.
“Undergrounding is almost finished, hopefully,” Moore said. “We’re looking at a final completion date of 2027. I know that sounds like a long way away, but it’s a 10-year project and it’s almost done.” During Thursday’s meeting, the association named its executive board and directors for 2025. They include: co-chairs Skip Aldridge and Rick Salvadore; vice chairs Gardiner Hempel, Stephen Jacobs, Richard Kleid, Ronald Matzner and Linda Sullivan; secretary Kay List; treasurer Gardiner Hempel; co-counsel Stephen Jacobs and Ronald Matzner; and directors Skip Aldridge, Guy Clark, Geri Emmett, Gardiner Hempel, Fred Kamel, Richard Kleid, Karen List, Joyce Mantyla, John Margaritis, Ronald Matzner, Maria Orecharova, Erick Reickert, Pamela Saba, Rick Salvatore, Dena Seigel, Greg Silpe, Linda Sullivan, Steve Tannenbaum, Jane Waldman and Peter Wilson.
