Rip currents, life rings and a future beach park on Jupiter Beach Committee agenda tonight

By Jupiter Tide Staff

JUPITER — Rip currents, life-saving equipment and the future of a county-owned oceanfront property are on the agenda when Jupiter's Beach Committee meets at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, in the Community Room at Town Hall, 210 Military Trail.

The meeting comes as a coastal flood warning, a high surf advisory and a high risk of rip currents are in effect for coastal Palm Beach County through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.

Jennifer Cirillo, director of Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation, is scheduled to give a presentation on the future Karen Marcus Ocean Park Preserve, according to the agenda.

Committee members asked for the presentation at their July 27 meeting, according to the meeting minutes, after a county coastal official briefed them on beach projects.

The preserve is undeveloped county land in Jupiter between U.S. 1 and State Road A1A, about 154 acres with roughly two-thirds of a mile of beachfront, journalist Joe Capozzi reported in 2022. The county named it for former County Commissioner Karen Marcus in 2012.

A new beach park at the preserve is one of the projects on Palm Beach County's list for a proposed $280 million parks bond that will be on the Nov. 3 ballot, according to the county's Parks Capital Projects Plan page. The county says new parks on the list would be designed with community input once funded.

The committee will also discuss rip currents and life-saving equipment. At the July meeting, members asked for a presentation on life rings at this meeting, the minutes show. The agenda packet includes product material for life ring cabinets, which are designed to keep throwable flotation devices ready for emergencies.

The packet also includes a news article about the August death of Kevin Burns, a longtime Jupiter Middle School history and civics teacher. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Burns and a friend had paddleboarded to a reef about a half mile offshore to snorkel when a strong current carried them away from their boards, according to the article.

Next door in Juno Beach, the town this month accepted two donated life rings from the Aden Perry Good Samaritan and Scholarship Fund, the town said in an Oct. 21 media release. The fund honors Aden Spencer Perry, 17, who died in April 2022 trying to rescue a drowning man, the release says. One life ring was mounted by the lake behind Juno Beach Town Center.

At the July meeting, Andy Studt of Palm Beach County's coastal resources management program told the committee that all three segments of the North County Comprehensive Shore Protection Project would be under construction this winter, from Nov. 1 to the end of April, with intermittent beach access closures, according to the minutes. He also said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would not be present this winter, affecting the scope of Segment 1, and that no renourishment would take place immediately north of the Reef Club, the minutes say.

Jupiter's Environmental Task Force meets at 6 p.m. Monday in Council Chambers at Town Hall. The agenda includes an introduction of the task force and Tequesta's Environmental Advisory Committee and a presentation and discussion on Jupiter and Tequesta environmental initiatives.

Both meetings are open to the public. Public comment on items not on the agenda is limited to three minutes per speaker. Agendas and packets are posted on the town's meeting portal. Weather can change plans; check the town's website before heading out.

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