Rant against Palm Beach Gardens official has annexation foe removed from council meeting

PALM BEACH GARDENS — The city has moved on from annexation, but some area residents have not.

Police officers escorted a man who lives in one of the unincorporated pockets that Palm Beach Gardens tried to annex out of the City Council’s meeting Thursday, citing “personal attacks” he made on an administrator.

Clad in a white T-shirt with the words “Don’t tread on me” painted in black on the back, Bob Minkewicz spoke out about what the city “put us through," meaning himself and his neighbors in an area near U.S. 1. He told council members that he had served in the U.S. Army for more than 35 years and never expected the “single greatest direct threat” to his freedom would be “from five city councilors and their administrators.”

“You abused the power that freedom gave you,” Minkewicz said.

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Palm Beach Gardens tried to absorb 1,316 acres of land, with 8,352 people living on them, into its boundaries through a vote March 19, which voters rejected by a 9-to-1 margin.

Minkewicz said that the council gave “half-truths” about what annexation would mean for the residents and called the city “perfectly plastic.” He addressed the entire council, but focused on Deputy City Manager Lori LaVerriere.

LaVerriere led the city’s outreach efforts to neighborhoods about annexation, meeting with residents and explaining the benefits of becoming part of Palm Beach Gardens. Minkewicz noted she had been Boynton Beach city manager before being dismissed in 2021.

Mayor Chelsea Reed then stepped in and asked him to direct his comments to her, rather than other city officials. City Attorney R. Max Lohman also warned Minkewicz to do the same. “You’re going to have to refine your comments to comments about the annexation or the council,” Lohman said. “You’re not going to stand here for three minutes and conduct personal attacks on people.”

Minkewicz responded, asking, “Is there free speech in this room or not?”

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“What you all put a whole community of thousands of people through was not fun and it was not a good thing,” said Minkewicz, who has lived in unincorporated Palm Beach County for more than 10 years.

“The way you went about it was really bad. There was no support from your own taxpayers. The people from our communities came here and said, ‘We don’t want to go forward with this.’ And you insisted on moving forward with it.”

After police officers ushered him out of the council chamber, City Manager Ron Ferris said Minkewicz didn’t fully understand the annexation situation.

“This was an emotional plea,” Ferris said. “He has no facts; our facts stand for themselves. This attack on the council and staff is uncalled for and we did take this through the democratic process and allowed everyone to vote. Their voice is loud and clear, fine. We’re moving on. Apparently not everyone has the ability to move on.”

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Council Member Carl Woods agreed it was time for Palm Beach Gardens to deal with other priorities.

“I am actually OK with leaving the city the way it was,” Woods said. “It was fine before; it was fine after. There was no underlying cause. We don't need their money. I’m happy with the way it went. I didn't even blink an eye about it.”

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Minkewicz told The Palm Beach Post after the meeting that in retrospect, he recognizes that the exchange between himself and Lohman violated Robert’s Rules of Order, the international guide to parliamentary procedure, and said he should have addressed his comments to the mayor instead.

He said he was confused by what was happening after Lohman spoke, and that before he could finish his notes, he was escorted out of the room. Minkewicz said the city did not issue any citation against him and he was “caught off guard” by Lohman and Reed’s responses.

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However, Minkewicz said he received a similar response from Reed when he spoke at a council meeting in November. On that night, he asked the unincorporated residents in the chamber to raise their hands if they opposed annexation. A multitude of hands shot up.

“They just operate with impunity and that scares me,” said Minkewicz, who said he will consider his legal options.

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Gardens removes speaker from meeting after rant at official