Residents press Boca Raton leaders to move charter amendment, task force and police‑HQ review as elections office sets March 2027 as next available ballot

Two Boca Raton residents urged the Community Redevelopment Agency and city council on May 26 to convert ongoing discussions into final decisions on a charter amendment to protect public lands, a downtown civic task force, and how the city will evaluate a new police services complex — while city staff explained the county elections office’s rules that narrow near‑term ballot options.

Resident Earl Starkoff, who gave his address as 3260 Saint Charles Way, asked the council to “use today to move 3 matters from continued discussion to final direction and votes.” He listed three specific requests: have staff present options, deadlines and costs for placing a charter amendment protecting public lands on an upcoming ballot; decide whether to proceed with a downtown civic task force — suggesting a mission area roughly bounded by Northwest 24th Diagonal, the library, the parking garage, Dixie Highway, Palmetto Park Road and Crawford Boulevard — and include adjacent public lands and facilities in that review; and require that the police services complex request for proposals include an interim report during the contract period recommending whether the long‑term headquarters should remain downtown or be sited elsewhere with a satellite downtown presence.

“Staff can provide those answers. Council can have its final discussions, and then the votes on their decisions can be made all 3 at today's council meeting,” Starkoff said.

Later in the public‑comment period, resident Mike Liebelson urged clearer next steps on the downtown task force and pointed council members to an alternative plan posted at bocafirst.org. “I remain very confused as to the status of this task force,” Liebelson said, adding that voters previously rejected a roughly $190,000,000 proposal for a new police station and opposed public‑private partnerships on public land. He described the bocafirst.org concept, developed by long‑time Boca Raton resident Les Wilson, as a lower‑cost approach that would reuse existing buildings on the city’s 31‑acre campus and keep core civic uses on that site.

Chair Thompson closed public requests and asked city staff to clarify ballot timing. Mister Koehler told the council that the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections — an independent constitutional officer who manages elections for Boca Raton and other municipalities in the county — controls which municipal measures appear on which ballots and has “remained consistent and steadfast” in declining to place municipal referendum measures on primary or general election ballots. Koehler said the city council had previously adopted language directing that the matter be placed on the “next available election” and no later than the March 2027 municipal ballot, and that a mail‑in‑only election remains an option if the council chooses it, although that approach carries substantial additional cost.

Koehler said staff has sent inquiries to the supervisor’s office and was awaiting further confirmation on scheduling and costs.

No formal votes were taken on the three items during the CRA meeting. Director Kaylor and the city attorney reported there were no other items for their reports. The CRA adjourned at 10:10 a.m., and the council workshop convened immediately afterward.

What happens next: Council members and staff will discuss the items in the workshop and subsequent council meeting; staff indicated it can provide cost and scheduling estimates for ballot placement and for any RFP requirements if directed to do so.