BOYNTON BEACH — City officials will take another shot at the future of a patch of forest where they had planned to build a police gun range and training complex, after weeks of pressure from neighboring residents opposed to it.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, the City Commission unanimously agreed to discuss on Sept. 1 other uses for nearly 8 acres of woods across the water from the Golf View Harbour community, where the project was to be built. Options include preserving the woods as they are.
City officials have been deluged the past few weeks with messages from Golf View residents opposing the facility for the noise and traffic they fear it would bring. The neighborhood sits on the west side of the E-4 canal between Interstate 95 and Congress Avenue,
south of Southwest 23rd Avenue. The forest is on the east side of the canal.
Commissioners unanimously agreed in June to spend up to $478,000 to survey, design and draft cost estimates for building the training center, which would include a 12-lane shooting range.
City officials have said about $60,000 has been spent, Commissioner Angela Cruz said at a meeting she hosted on Aug. 6 with residents of Golf View, which is in her district. She also announced at that event, attended by about 100 residents, that the project was paused.
Rules may limit what Boynton can do with proposed gun range site
Commissioner Mack McCray on Aug. 11 expressed dismay over Cruz's event.
"I was taken aback," McCray said. He said he saw a news report he said had claimed Cruz said she guaranteed the police complex would be stopped. "I was like, 'Woah.' I'm saying, 'Did I miss a meeting?' ... How could somebody guarantee a vote when there's five of us sitting up here?"
Cruz shot back. "What I said is everything has been stopped because that's what I was told by management," she said, gesturing towards City Manager Dan Dugger. "I have it in writing, so I would appreciate not having my words taken out of context. I'm doing my job, representing my district."
Commissioner Aimee Kelley said she had concerns about the city continuing to pay for a bridge along Southwest 22nd Way connecting Golf View to the wooded area, which has a Florida Power & Light substation north of it, next to the bridge.
"I don't want to keep paying for a bridge when it benefits us nothing, zero, zilch," she said.
Cruz said on Aug. 6 that city officials found that the wooded land, which FPL donated to the city decades ago, came with rules banning permanent buildings on about 4 acres of it. The power company also found that the only types of developments permitted on those acres include a nature preserve, walking or biking trails or parking, Cruz said.
Golf View Harbour residents want police training site moved elsewhere
Golf View residents have said they support having up-to-date training facilities for the city's police department. They just do not want the training center near them.
"The number one reason we bought our home was because of these woods," Golf View resident Tony Cenkar said at the Aug. 11 meeting. "It was a punch in the stomach to find out those woods, and the wildlife and birds we see in them every day may be taken away."
Other residents said they have seen peregrine falcons, gopher tortoises and other wildlife there.
"We know this is going to be an uphill battle," Cenkar said. "We know our city manager is a retired police captain who does everything he can for the police department, no matter the cost."
After the meeting, Dugger said, "As for me doing anything in the world for the police department, I'll support the police department. We've been looking for a training facility, and the community doesn't want it there, so we'll have to reevaluate and see where we can put a training facility."
The police department's current firing range, shared with a fire station on Congress Avenue, is 50 years old and dilapidated, Cruz has said. The city also has no dedicated facility where computer simulations can help officers train for incidents.
Email Chris Persaud with news tips and ideas at cpersaud@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton to rethink police training complex after residents fight plan
