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Minutes 08-01-01 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON AUGUST 1, 2001 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Ron Washam, Chair Beth Miller, Vice Chair Joy Currier Blanche Girtman Eddie Mitchell Brenda Lee Williams Stuart Heyer, Alternate Dan DeCarlo, Board Liaison Absent Anne Centi Juanita Summers Hansome Jones, Alternate I. OPENING, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Eddie Mitchell and a moment of silent prayer. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll and a quorum was present. III. JULY 11, 2001 MINUTES APPROVAL Motion Ms. Girtman moved to accept the minutes of the July 11,2001 meeting as written. Vice Chair Miller seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IV. AGENDA APPROVAL Ms. Girtman wished to add under New Business an item pertaining to community disruption over a recent incident involving the Police and a black youth. Vice Chair Miller wanted to add under the PATCH Update an item on a joint PATCH, Community Relations Board and Police activity for community violence forums. Ms. Currier wished to add an item about school supplies under New Business. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August1,2001 Motion Vice Chair Miller moved to accept the agenda as amended. Ms. Girtman seconded the motion that carried unanimously. V. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Currier thanked everyone who had attended the graduation ceremonies at HeadStart. She also expressed appreciation for the prayers and well wishes that she received on her recent surgery. Ms. Currier reported that Commissioner Fisher was trying to get an Anti-Bullying law passed and it was before the Florida legislature at this time. The Board commended Commissioner Fisher on this endeavor and supported him in it. Mr. Mitchell announced that there would be an open house at the new high school on Monday, August 6, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and he hoped everyone could attend. He had recently toured the school and was quite impressed. Ms. Williams reported that vacation bible school was going on at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church this week and that on August 2 from 6 - 8:30 p.m., the Boynton Beach Police would be talking to the youth about drugs. Vice Chair Miller advised that the Dick Webber Center for Child Abuse Prevention still had raffle tickets for a 2002 "Fat Boy Harley" motorcycle or $15,000 cash. Interested persons should see Ms. Miller. Mr. DeCarlo said that two MLK neighborhood workshops had been held and that the next one would be at the HeadStart office on August 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The last meeting will be at Poinciana School on August 25, 2001 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Chairman Washam reported that the Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce would host a Business Exposition at the Mall on August 18, 2001. The City and the Mall are co-hosting a Welcome Breakfast and Teacher's Back to School Fashion Show for staff members of the Boynton Beach Community High School at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 7. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Hosting Qufu Sister City Delegation Visit August 16 - August 22 Mr. DeCarlo reported that the delegation would be in the area from August 16 through August 22. The welcoming ceremony will be at the new high school auditorium on August 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The event is free and Chinese and American entertainment is on the program. It was hoped that thero would be a large crowd in attendance. On August 18, the delegation will participate in the Business Exposition at the Mall. On August 20, they will tour the City with the Chamber and the business community in the morning, followed by a discussion with the City concerning the 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 1, 2001 development of cultural and economic activities. Various informal activities were also planned. A delegation from Boynton Beach will be going to Qufu on September 20 through October 2. The interpreter for the Chinese delegation is also a travel agent and offered to arrange the trip for the Boynton delegation at his cost. The cost for the twelve days including air, meals and hotel was a very reasonable $1,500. Mr. DeCarlo hoped to have a large and diverse group for the trip. There will be a trade fair in Qufu and Boynton Beach will have a booth. The trade fair is held in conjunction with Confucius' birthday and the City has celebrated it every year for 2,000 years. In order to promote friendship with other countries, the City is looking at sister city programs with France and many other countries. In addition to the Friendship Park, they want to do a project at Sara Sims Park celebrating the history of the African people and something elsewhere for the Caribbean community. There is a lot of grant money available through Sister City International to promote cultural awareness and international programs that this Board might wish to pursue. Boynton Beach would like to become known as a city that promotes diversity and cultural awareness. Mr. Mitchell asked if there were any U.S. governmental restrictions on the relationship between Boynton Beach and Qufu. Mr. DeCarlo did not know of any restrictions. The trips were ceremonial and had no connection to the government. Ms. Williams asked Mr. DeCarlo to send copies of the delegation's itinerary to each of the Board members. Everyone was welcome to attend any of the events. B. Community Gardening Mr. DeCarlo stated they would be looking for gardeners in September. The site on 6th and Seacrest now has irrigation and the EZ Mart and Farm Store sites will be started soon. Mr. Mitchell said that when Mr. DeCarlo first presented the idea of the community gardens, he had some serious reservations about the program. He was now convinced that Mr. DeCarlo's decision to place community gardens in the two areas on Seacrest was correct and he commended him for it. C. PATCH Update Mr. DeCarlo was unable to attend the last meeting but knew that they were planning to have an immunization van at the Wilson Center on August 25. They had completed their bylaws and were in the process of applying for 501.C(3) status. They were going to change their title from steering committee to board of directors. Ms. Currier wanted to go on record as saying how pleased they were that Ms. Angela Girtman was their Chairperson and how fortunate the PATCH committee was to have her. Vice Chair Miller reported that the Exchange Club issued its Policeman of the Year award and also gave awards to Zeus and the K-9 officers. She had spoken to Chief Gage about the issue of violence in the community and the idea arose of some kind of community outreach to the youth involving PATCH, the CRB, and the Police Department. Mr. DeCarlo suggested that when this was formalized at Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August1,2001 PATCH's August meeting, the proposal would be put in writing and presented to the CRB at their September meeting. VII. NEW BUSINESS A, Community Disruption An incident occurred recently wherein a young black man was shot during the course of police activity. This incident was discussed, with Ms. Girtman relating her concerns about possible unrest in the community over the incident. She hoped the Police could do something to help foster understanding and communication between themselves and the youth of the community. Chairman Washam agreed and commented that 38% of the population felt that they had no representation and no one to turn to for help. He thought that the CRB might need to go out into the community and meet with the youth in those areas that felt the most "left out" and try to forge a bridge between the youth and the City. He spoke of some of the negative comments that all those involved in community advocacy had heard such as: "1 saw a lot of police cars heading down towards Congress Avenue the other night and I can't get the Police to send one car to my neighborhood." "Those areas get all the attention. This area gets none". Ms. Williams thought the community town meetings involving PATCH and the Community Relations Board would be good. She was concerned about the lack of communication between the Police and the youth and did not believe that the youth realized how they were supposed to respond to the Police in all cases. In her words, "When they [Police] give you a direct order, you are supposed to respond in a certain way. If you don't know how to respond, naturally things are going to escalate into something that can get out of hand". She was concerned about the reason that the youth involved in this incident did not answer the question put to him by the officer. She was not against the use of force, if necessary, in order to subdue someone who was breaking the law. Ms. Girtman had heard of some community outreach activities that Delray Beach was doing concerning the youth and she wanted Boynton Beach to do the same thing. Mr. DeCarlo referred to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Neighborhood Planning Workshops being held where crime was the main concern of the residents, who perceived that their neighborhoods were unsafe. After the last planning workshop, the City will be bringing in a group called the Institute of Cultural Affairs that helped Delray Beach a few years ago. They will continue the process of a citizen's academy for those who wish to participate. Mr. DeCarlo outlined some of the future plans for the redevelopment of the area that would have a direct impact on crime activities. He spoke of the serious stance the City was taking towards crime and that the City was fully prepared to do whatever it took to achieve an atmosphere in which the residents felt safe in their homes and on their streets. Ms. Currier remarked that eleven Police officers had attended the last PATCH meeting and that they had been very concerned and communicative. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 1, 2001 Chairman Washam spoke of the necessity of achieving a balanced view and the pitfalls of action without full knowledge of the facts. He reiterated the willingness of the Community Relations Board to act as a bridge between the troubled youth and the City. He was glad that the Board had an opportunity to at least touch on this very important topic. 2. School Supplies Mr. Currier reported that Commissioner Fisher had gotten school supplies from WalMart for distribution to all school age youth in need. He sent a letter to every school in the area notifying them of the availability of the supplies. Some supplies were still lacking and all donations were gratefully accepted. Ms. Currier offered to arrange for pick up if necessary. Ms. Currier suggested that the Board should hold its November meeting at the new high school and make it a community event. The Board agreed that this would be a good idea and asked Mr. DeCarlo to try to arrange it. There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins (one tape) (08/06/01)