Vision Zero goes to Council, with $4 million riding on it
Plus a $100 wildlife rule, the Seat D field, and a STEAM passport.
September opened with decisions about Boca's roads, wildlife and next city election. Families can also use a month-long city STEAM passport.
Boca Raton's Vision Zero Action Plan is set for a City Council vote September 8. Approval must come before the city can use a $4 million federal road-safety grant. Staff expects work to begin in 2027 and run through 2028.
The plan uses crash data from 2018 through 2023. Boca averaged seven crashes a day. It also averaged four serious or fatal crashes a month. The plan flags 27 high-injury road segments and 63 intersections.
The $4 million award requires a $1 million local match. Test projects would focus on city streets. Staff named 20th, 13th and 12th streets as key sites. Boca has won $5.8 million from the federal safe-streets program overall. Local matching funds total about $1.58 million.
Feeding iguanas now costs $100
Boca Raton approved a wildlife-feeding rule on a 3-2 vote August 25. A violation can bring a $100 fine. The rule covers iguanas, pigeons, rats and mice.
It targets the amount and way food is given when it may draw a group of those animals. Traditional bird feeders are not expected to count. Neither are feral-cat colonies in trap-neuter-return programs.
The dispute began with complaints about 150 to 200 pigeons near one home. Florida wildlife officials advise people not to feed wild animals. Crowding can increase stress, competition and disease. Council members Yvette Drucker and Michelle Grau voted no.
Pool cushion burns at the Yamato Road Hampton Inn
Boca Raton Fire Rescue answered a fire call Saturday night at the Hampton Inn, 1455 West Yamato Road. A cushion near the hotel pool had been set on fire. Smoke and flames prompted the response.
Hotel employees extinguished the cushion before firefighters arrived. Fire crews reached the hotel within minutes and confirmed what had burned. No one was hurt. The person accused of starting the fire had left by then.
Yvette Drucker earns the city's first FLC gold certificate
Council member Yvette Drucker received a Gold Certificate of Excellence from the Florida League of Cities. It is the top of three levels in the league's Certificate Program for Elected Municipal Officials.
Drucker completed the program in its first year, from August 2025 through July 2026. Officials earned points through monthly webinars, online orientation and state-required ethics courses. The Institute for Elected Municipal Officials and league events also counted. Certificate recipients will appear in the league's online magazine and at its annual conference.
Mark Holler enters the Seat D race
Retired Brig. Gen. Mark Holler has filed for Boca Raton City Council Seat D. His campaign lists city character and public safety as priorities. It also names growth, traffic and public works.
Holler retired from the Army in 2023 after 31 years. He was a deputy commander for the U.S. Eighth Army in South Korea. His campaign says he also oversaw Pentagon programs worth about $35 billion.
Incumbent Stacy Sipple has filed for the seat. Bernard Korn and Ellen Vanderbilt are also in the field. Candidate qualifying is set for early November. The city election is March 9, 2027.
Ten years of STEAM, and a passport to fill
- When
- Through September 2026
- Where
- Participating City of Boca Raton locations
Boca's STEAM program is marking 10 years with a passport activity through September. Children can pick up a passport at a participating location, and an online version is available.
The three partners are the Children's Science Explorium, Boca Raton Public Libraries and Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Each completed challenge earns a stamp. Five stamps complete the passport and earn a goodie bag with items from all three facilities.