So now our former council person is opposed to the construction of a RaceTrac station on the corner of Royal Palm Beach and Southern boulevards. Well, that’s a 180 from just a few years ago, when, as a sitting member on the council, she strongly supported the concept of commercial and industrial development along Crestwood Blvd. on the former wastewater plant property. That property, as she was well aware, sits immediately adjacent to the residential Saratoga communities and just down the street from H.L. Johnson Elementary School. With this as part of her record, she now opposes the construction of a RaceTrac station on what is currently an ugly site with an empty building sitting on it. She’d like to see a fountain there!
The logic eludes me. How could she propose the development of commercial and/or industrial business that would surely impact adjacent property values and, more importantly, endanger our children attending the nearby school… yet oppose building an attractive and community-serving station in a totally commercial area that does not abut any residences?
Furthermore, the renderings presented by the RaceTrac spokesperson at the last council meeting showed an attractive business design that would fit in well with the established businesses surrounding it, as well as a plan to improve the traffic flow around it. And last but not least, the tax benefits to the village should be clear.
Arlene Olinsky, Royal Palm Beach
