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Board and residents push for reinstating a historic preservation planner in city budget
Summary
Board members and multiple public commenters urged the city to restore a historic preservation planner position and to include it in the upcoming budget process, saying a dedicated planner would pursue grants and coordinate preservation projects; staff replied that creating or funding a position requires commission approval and budget action.
Members of the Boynton Beach Historic Preservation Board and multiple public commenters used the meeting to press city staff and commissioners to restore a historic preservation planner and to include the position in the next budget cycle.
Tom Winke, a Boynton Beach historian who volunteers with the Delray Beach Historical Society, urged the board to adopt a resolution asking the City Commission to fund a preservation planner. “The historic preservation planner… the salary would enable that person to develop grants that would more than pay for the salary,” Winke said, calling the role a net fiscal benefit if it produced successful grant applications.
Other commenters echoed that view. Resident Susan Oyer said the absence of a planner is “embarrassing to our city” and described past success with former staffer Warren, who she credited with securing grants. Ben Lauer, another commenter, asked the board chair to receive weekly updates on key properties and recommended that the chair or a designee participate in budget‑planning meetings so preservation needs are considered early.
City staff explained the limits of department authority. A staff member said creating or re‑funding a planner position “requires approval by the City Commission and needs to be approved through the budget.” Staff also noted that some preservation activities might fall within the CRA area and that different funding sources and departmental responsibilities would need to be coordinated.
No formal resolution was adopted during the meeting. Board members and public commenters asked staff to raise the issue with the City Commission and to report back with options for where the position would sit organizationally and how it could be funded, including potential grant and CRA support.
