OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Boca Raton City Council Regular Meeting - April 28, 2026

Boca Raton Public Meetings — Tuesday, April 28, 2026
BodyBoca Raton, Florida
SessionBoca Raton Public Meetings
DateTuesday, April 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:03:27
Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

It's that time where we will call to order a regular meeting of the Booker Tone City Council.

0:07

The date is April 28th, 2016.

0:10

The time is 6 p.m.

0:12

First order of business is the invocation, which I will deliver.

0:17

Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for the chance that we have to come back to this place to conduct the city's business on behalf of our residents here.

0:25

We pray that in this time together that you give us wisdom, you give us the heart of servants, and you give us patience so that we can continue to do our best to provide good leadership for this city.

0:38

For those in our community and here tonight that have suffered loss, we pray that you give them peace and comfort and we give you all the praise and the glory.

0:48

Amen.

0:50

If you could please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:55

I pledge allegiance to the flag in the United States as an America.

1:10

Ms.

1:10

Siddons, could you please call the roll?

1:12

Mayor Thompson.

1:13

Thankful to be here.

1:14

Deputy Mayor Grow.

1:15

Here.

1:16

Councilmember Drucker.

1:17

Here.

1:17

Councilmember Perlman.

1:19

Here.

1:19

Councilmember Sippel.

1:21

Present.

1:21

All present.

1:22

Thank you, Ms.

1:23

Siddons.

1:23

Mr.

1:24

Souhaney, do we have any amendments to the agenda?

1:26

Thank you, Mr.

1:27

Mayor.

1:27

I have no amendments to the agenda.

1:29

Next item of business then is the minutes.

1:31

We have two sets of minutes.

1:32

The first of the workshop meeting on April 13th, 2026, and the second set of our regular meeting on the date of April 14th, 2026.

1:41

Are there any corrections or revisions to those sets of minutes?

1:45

If not, I'll entertain a motion in a second, hopefully, to approve both sets of minutes as presented.

1:50

Do I hear such a motion?

1:55

Don't everybody want to do that.

1:57

Okay, very good.

1:57

Oh, now they are here more.

1:59

All right, I believe I had Ms.

2:00

Drucker in there for the motion, and I believe Ms.

2:02

Sipple to count you as a second.

2:04

Does that work?

2:05

Excellent.

2:06

All those in favor of approving the minutes, please say aye.

2:08

Aye.

2:09

Aye.

2:10

The ayes have it.

2:11

Excellent.

2:11

So we can move on to proclamations and presentations, and we are blessed to be uh to have with us tonight the general counsel for the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, Ms.

2:20

Rhonda Geiger.

2:24

Hello, everyone.

2:25

Rhonda Geiger with the Commission on Ethics.

2:27

Thank you again for having me as always.

2:30

Um I've dropped off some goodies.

2:33

Mayor Thompson, go ahead.

2:35

I was gonna ask as I always do.

2:36

Is this require a gift disclosure on our part, Ms.

2:39

Geiger?

2:39

Um it does not, and he and I came to the conclusion earlier that any disclosure should probably be on my part because the value is in getting rid of these things.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement██████████████████████22%
Public Safety██████████████████18%
Procedural█████████████████17%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Community Engagement███████7%
Ethics And Compliance██████6%
Youth Programs██████6%
Downtown Planning██████6%
Board Appointments████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Boca Raton City Council Regular Meeting - April 28, 2026

The Boca Raton City Council held a regular meeting on April 28, 2026, at 6:00 PM. The meeting included an invocation, pledge, roll call, approval of minutes, a presentation from the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, unanimous approval of the consent agenda, multiple public comments, introduction of an ordinance to protect city-owned lands, and council reports. Key discussion centered on the downtown civic task force selection process, with a motion to reconsider the task force resolution deferred to a future meeting due to due process concerns.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes: Approved the minutes of the workshop meeting of April 13, 2026, and the regular meeting of April 14, 2026.
  • Consent Agenda Items: Approved unanimously (5-0) including:
    • Sole source purchase of patrol rifles from Lawmen’s & Shooter’s Supply Inc. for $573,432.00.
    • Resolution No. 36-2026 canceling certain workshops and regular meetings in June, July, and August 2026.
    • Resolution No. 37-2026 authorizing an agreement with Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. for utility rate and financial consulting.
    • Resolution No. 38-2026 authorizing a Public Emergency Medical Services Agreement with FWC2026 US, Inc. for FIFA World Cup 2026 training operations.
    • Resolution No. 39-2026 authorizing an agreement with Palm Beach County for EMS equipment/training grant funding.
    • Resolution No. 40-2026 authorizing grant applications for Spanish River Dock Rehabilitation Phase 2 and Spanish River Park Improvements Phase 1.
    • Receipt of board minutes and board resignations.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Earl Starkoff (applied for task force): Supported Option 2 for the task force selection process, citing transparency and efficiency, and recommended a structured narrowing process similar to that used by the Beach and Park District.
  • Glenn Groman (exempted address): Reported that NGOs are homeless individuals at Wildflower Park and the boat ramp, and expressed concerns about safety and lack of police presence downtown.
  • Brianna Hagquist (5710A Coach House Circle): Advocated for parks and wildlife, noting that Sugarsand Park is a gopher tortoise habitat with approximately 3,000 trees, and argued that building softball fields there would be cost-prohibitive (tree relocation costs of $2–15 million) and ecologically harmful.
  • Christina Broker (2391 NW 38th Street): Expressed full support for building a quad softball complex in Boca Raton, citing the growth of softball nationally and the need to host tournaments locally rather than sending families to other cities.
  • Patty Drivishi (420 NE 10th Terrace): Raised safety concerns about e-bikes traveling at high speeds (up to 35 mph) without lights or reflectors, and reported an incident of a young man with a pellet rifle.
  • Robert Ducate (5351 NW 3rd Terrace): Criticized city staff for recommending rezoning and variances, opposed the Jeffrey Street extension through North Park (calling it a public safety issue), and urged the council to support the beach and park district’s golf facility plans.
  • Judy Morrow (1305 NE 5th Avenue): Praised the council for listening to residents and requested more tennis courts, citing Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington as examples.
  • Alexandra Avenu (498 SW 12th Terrace): Raised concerns about non-resident students attending Addison Meisner and non-resident use of sports facilities, urging the city to investigate.
  • Angela McDonald (1350 N Dixie Highway): Thanked the council for visiting Pearl City and invited members to the community’s monthly meetings.
  • Angela Maisie (242 NW 64th Street): Supported using the Treasure Coast Planning Council for the master plan (noting it is free), opposed the Jeffrey Street extension, and expressed concern that the Save Boca referendum would handcuff the council.

Discussion Items

  • Ethics Presentation: Rhonda Giger, General Counsel for the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, provided an overview of ethics rules, emphasizing proactive guidance and explaining the three conditions for a conflict of interest: prohibited entity, financial benefit, and special benefit. She offered to conduct live training for council members.
  • Introduction of Ordinance No. 5784: Councilmember Pearlman introduced an ordinance to create a new section (2-4) of the City Code requiring voter approval via referendum for any sale or lease of city-owned land greater than 0.5 acre, with limited exceptions.
  • City Manager Report: City Manager Sohaney reported on the community master plan (RFP process to begin), downtown civic task force selection options (deferred to next workshop), police chief hiring (700 survey responses, interviews next week), homeless outreach (ongoing meetings, after-action report pending), launch of the "myBoca" chatbot on April 28, Memorial Day ceremony on May 25, Blue Flag beach designation ceremony on May 7, and Boca Regional Chamber Breakfast on May 14.
  • Councilmember Reports:
    • Councilmember Drucker updated on e-bike discussions at the MPO, cautioned against approaching individuals with pellet guns, and provided an update on property tax legislation in Tallahassee (House passed a phase-out plan, Senate to discuss next week, would require 60% voter approval in November).
    • Councilmember Grau expressed concerns about the task force, stating it may create division and limit participation, and suggested relying on the professional urban planning team to lead an inclusive community engagement process.
    • Councilmember Pearlman responded, noting that the task force is intended to provide additional opportunities for public input, not exclude others. He moved to reconsider Resolution 33-2026 (which established the task force) with a possible repeal, but Mayor Thomson advised that due process requires placing the item on a future agenda with public notice.
    • Mayor Thomson announced the last Night Market of the season at Sanborn Square on May 7.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously (5-0).
  • Ordinance No. 5784: Introduced for first reading; no vote taken.
  • Task Force Reconsideration: Councilmember Pearlman made a motion to revisit the task force resolution, but the Mayor stated that due process requires formal notice and public hearing. The matter was deferred to a future council meeting.
  • Community Master Plan: Staff directed to proceed with an RFP for a private firm and present the scope of work and timeline at the next workshop.
  • Task Force Selection Process: Council agreed to discuss the selection process at the next workshop, given the additional time from the RFP pivot.
  • Public Safety: City Manager to follow up on homeless concerns and e-bike safety; police chief interviews to begin next week.

Meeting Transcript

It's that time where we will call to order a regular meeting of the Booker Tone City Council. The date is April 28th, 2016. The time is 6 p.m. First order of business is the invocation, which I will deliver. Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for the chance that we have to come back to this place to conduct the city's business on behalf of our residents here. We pray that in this time together that you give us wisdom, you give us the heart of servants, and you give us patience so that we can continue to do our best to provide good leadership for this city. For those in our community and here tonight that have suffered loss, we pray that you give them peace and comfort and we give you all the praise and the glory. Amen. If you could please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag in the United States as an America. Ms. Siddons, could you please call the roll? Mayor Thompson. Thankful to be here. Deputy Mayor Grow. Here. Councilmember Drucker. Here. Councilmember Perlman. Here. Councilmember Sippel. Present. All present. Thank you, Ms. Siddons. Mr. Souhaney, do we have any amendments to the agenda? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I have no amendments to the agenda. Next item of business then is the minutes. We have two sets of minutes. The first of the workshop meeting on April 13th, 2026, and the second set of our regular meeting on the date of April 14th, 2026. Are there any corrections or revisions to those sets of minutes? If not, I'll entertain a motion in a second, hopefully, to approve both sets of minutes as presented. Do I hear such a motion? Don't everybody want to do that. Okay, very good. Oh, now they are here more. All right, I believe I had Ms. Drucker in there for the motion, and I believe Ms. Sipple to count you as a second. Does that work? Excellent. All those in favor of approving the minutes, please say aye. Aye. Aye. The ayes have it. Excellent. So we can move on to proclamations and presentations, and we are blessed to be uh to have with us tonight the general counsel for the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, Ms.

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