Letter: RaceTrac The Ultimate Betrayal

I want to remind my neighbors here in the Village of Royal Palm Beach of the consequences of the construction of the RaceTrac gas station at the entrance of our village that was approved by the Royal Palm Beach Village Council. We all know that it is going to bring more traffic, crime, noise and devastate the tranquility of our neighborhood. The large entranceway palm trees are coming down to make room for an extra turn lane. What already had deteriorated into an unsightly corner with the trucks at the Royal Inn will become worse.

Always we thought our community leaders would look to make this better for us. It is unconscionable to know that they actually conspired over a full year to ruin all that we moved here to Royal Palm Beach for and all the investment that we have made in our homes. They did not listen; they will not listen. The Royal Palm Beach mayor and council betrayed us!

I want to remind you that the three incumbents — Fred Pinto, Jeff Hmara and Richard Valuntas — ignored the voices of the residents. Not once, not twice, not three times, but over and over again at council meetings, special council meetings and contrived workshops. They did not listen to us and turned their backs on our requests. Send them a message loud and clear that we heard them, and we are voting you all out on March 15. Vote for Martha Webster, Lenore White and Selena Smith for a fresh voice and representation.

Jean Mancini, Royal Palm Beach