County wants Boca Raton officials on board with Lake Wyman restoration

Boca Raton has been given an ultimatum: Sign the agreement to restore Lake Wyman by June 30 or lose the project.

Robert Robbins, director of Palm Beach County's environmental resources management, said in a letter delivered Monday that if the city doesn't sign, a $1.5 million grant from the Florida Inlet Navigation District will be returned.

"After June 30, we will have lost the opportunity to construct the project," Robbins wrote.

The makeover would overhaul the area, where silt and overgrown vegetation have made high tide the only time a canoe can glide through trails winding through Lake Wyman's mangroves.

It would also expand a boardwalk, plant sea grass and provide recreational docks.

But neighborhood opposition particularly from the Golden Harbour Neighborhood Association prompted both the City Council and the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District last month to seek more study before committing to their $383,167 share of the $2.9 million project.

They say the project potentially harms manatees, impedes water flow and, with the building of a maintenance road, creates privacy problems.

Lake Wyman Park, an 8.3-acre, city-owned park, is located along the western side of the Intracoastal Waterway, adjacent to the James A. Rutherford Park. The city used to rent canoes there, but hasn't since existing vegetation became too thick.

Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel said Tuesday if the park district isn't in the effort, neither is the city.

"We could not see our way clear unless [the district] contributes their half," Whelchel said.

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County wants Boca Raton officials on board with Lake Wyman restoration