Jupiter names planning board member Frank Fore to fill vacant Town Council seat

JUPITER — Frank “Andy” Fore, who has served on the Jupiter Planning and Zoning Commission since 2018, will fill the Town Council seat that Cheryl Schneider vacated in August.

The council voted 3-1 Tuesday night to appoint Fore, a Jupiter resident for 38 years and an engineer who is also a licensed pilot and scuba divemaster and holds a U.S. Coast Guard license to captain vessels up to 25 gross tons.

Fore was chosen from a field of 35 applicants with a diverse range of experience and backgrounds, including a former mayor and council member. His term runs through March 2025.

Fore began his career at aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney in Palm Beach County in 1985. Since 1994, he has been president of Engineering Analyses & Solutions in Tequesta. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Being a long-time Jupiter resident, I feel like I am actually paying Jupiter back," Fore said Wednesday. "I have hung my shingle out here as an engineer since 1990. I have made my living here and raised two daughters here. The town has done a lot for me and my family. “

Fore’s Florida roots go back to 1843 when his maternal grandmother’s family arrived when the state was still a Spanish territory. His great-great grandfather traded with the Seminoles in what is now Winter Haven.

Fore is slated to be sworn in Oct. 3.

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The only other candidates that council members mentioned were Teri Grooms, Jim Davis and David Thompson.

Council member Cameron May, who voted against Fore’s appointment, advocated for lifelong Jupiter resident Teri Grooms, who had been chair of the planning commission and on that board since 2020.

“As someone who was born and raised here, I truly think we need another person who has born and raised here,” May said, adding that Grooms has the experience and knowledge needed.

Immediately after the vote, Grooms and a half dozen of her supporters exited the meeting. Grooms said she no longer wants to serve on the planning and zoning board. While still at Town Hall, she emailed her resignation to Vice Mayor Ron Delaney and John Sickler, Jupiter's planning and zoning director.

“I am disappointed I won’t have the chance to represent the residents of the town I love so much,” Grooms said.

Council member Malise Sundstrom started off the 30-minute discussion by stating that Fore was her top choice. Her list of criteria included someone with a long history of community involvement and knowledge about the town’s processes and council issues, as well as professional experience and an affection for the town.

Sundstrom worked with Fore while both were on the planning and zoning commission, and she said he takes a strong, calm approach to everything.

Sundstrom made the motion to appoint Fore, and Delaney seconded it.

Thompson, a member of the Historic Resources Board, was her second choice, Sundstrom said.

Davis, who has served as a Jupiter Inlet District commissioner since 2021, would have to resign that position, council members said, and they did not want to cause that to happen.

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Mayor Jim Kuretski said that while council members represent the entire town, it was important to choose someone from District 1, which was Schneider’s district when she was elected. That district is generally north of Indian Creek Parkway and west of Old Dixie Highway, extending to west of Florida’s Turnpike.

The reason for the districts is so there is not a perception that everybody on the council is from one neighborhood or area, Kuretski said.

MB Hague, a former planning and zoning commissioner who served with Fore and Grooms, said Grooms would have no learning curve if she were given the job and was the most qualified candidate.

“She has worked to keep Jupiter, Jupiter,” Hague said.

Schneider, elected in March 2022, was passionate about managing growth. She announced her resignation at an Aug. 3 council meeting, saying she was leaving for health reasons.

Schneider was vice mayor at the time of her resignation. She supported preserving the entire 10-acre Suni Sands property, a historically and archaeologically significant site near the Jupiter Inlet.

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The council voted 3-2 to grant a certificate to dig on 6 acres of the site. Area developer Charles Modica wants to build a hotel, condominiums, townhouses and a restaurant there. Modica has appealed the council’s decision and requested a hearing before a special magistrate.

Former Mayor Karen Golonka and former council member Wayne Posner also applied for the open council seat, but the board did not discuss choosing either to fill the position.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jupiter planning board member to fill vacant Town Council seat