At 5 p.m. today, the Delray Beach City Commission will hold a workshop meeting. The first item is “Discussion with the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority Board.”
What timing.
On Friday, Damara Cohn resigned from the DDA board. The commission chose Cohn just seven days ago. She replaced Rick Burgess, whom the commission removed on April 16 for allegedly claiming a virtual business address within the district when he applied last year, not a brick-and-mortar address.
Apparently, though, Cohn had the same issue. On Thursday, City Attorney Lynn Gelin had asked to speak with Cohn “about your recent appointment.” City Commissioner Rob Long told me Gelin had been notified about a potential problem with the address Cohn listed—55 SE Second Ave.—for her self-owned business, Mangrove Realty.
That is the address of Office55, which advertises itself as a location for “virtual” and “hybrid” offices. Like Burgess, Cohn was supposed to have an actual office within the DDA district.
And who flagged Cohn’s problem? Burgess. He told me Monday that he “communicated” with Gelin after the commission chose Cohn. Burgess said, “[The commission] didn’t check out her address. I did.” He also contends that nothing in the DDA ordinance requires such an address.
Here’s more irony: Commissioners complained last week that the application forms provide too little information on which to make an informed choice.