were erected starting at $8,250. Village government—initially in the form of a developer-appointed council—later became popularly elected in 1964. Not until 1977 did the Village Council find a permanent home in the present Village Hall complex. To date, there have been 15 mayors who have served the village—some as single-term and part-term mayors—others, like Sam Lamstein (1982–1990), formal County Commissioner Tony Masilotti (1992–1998), and current Mayor David Lodwick (since 1998) have won voter approval for multi-terms. Arthur Desser's dream of a "nouveau" Palm Beach were short-lived, however, with the bankruptcy of Lefcourt in 1961. His interest was bought out by Friedland who then established Royal Palm Beach Colony Inc. to continue village development. A grocery store magnate with no experience in the housing market, Friedland nonetheless was a savvy businessman who put together a team of professionals who set up a comprehensive land sales/development/building enterprise. With the late Herbert Kaplan as RPB Colony CEO, the company and the town grew slowly from 1960-67 — first in the original "Colony" section of floral-named streets east and west of the southern end of Royal Palm Beach Blvd., and then expanded with vigor into the Willows and LaMancha subdivisions (east of RPB Blvd.). A marketing push began in 1979 to offer to builders tracts of land. With this growth phase the Village ballooned over the next 15 years. In 1983, Crestwood Middle School opened as the first community school followed in 1985 and 1989, respectively, by H.L. Johnson and Cypress Trails Elementary schools. Royal Palm Beach High School opened its doors to 1,100 students in 1997. Schools in the western communities continue to open in rapid succession — often with student bodies at or near capacity the first year. The 2002–2003 school year included the opening of the village's third elementary school on Okeechobee Blvd., just west of the Madison Green residential development. In 1986, both Palms West Hospital and Wellington Regional Medical Center opened with 117 and 120 beds, respectively, and both are continuing with major expansion projects to meet the health care needs of local residents. With the hospitals came a building boom of medical office complexes on the campuses of both hospitals, as well as a Royal Palm Beach health center built by West Palm Beach's Good Samaritan Medical Center. Since the village's inception, public safety has been foremost in the minds of residents and village officials. In June 1960,