Minutes 06-06-01Present
Ron Washam, Chair
Anne Centi
Joy Currier
Blanche Girtman
Stuart Heyer, Alt.
Eddie Mitchell
Juanita Summers
Brenda Williams
Dan DeCarlo, Board Liaison
Absent
Beth Miller, Vice Chair
David Katz
Hansome Jones, Alt.
I. Opening, Pledge of Allegiance
Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. and asked Ms. Girtman to
lead the members in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by a moment of silent
reflection.
II. Roll Call - Regular Members and Alternates
The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present.
III. Recognition of Visitors
Chairman Washam recognized the presence in the audience of Brian Edwards and
Elizabeth Jenkins and welcomed them to the meeting.
IV.
Minutes Approval
A. May 2, 2001 Board Meeting
Motion
Ms. Williams moved to accept the minutes of the May 2, 2001 meeting.
seconded by Ms. Currier and carried unanimously.
The motion was
Meeting Minutes
Community Relations Board
Boynton Beach, FI
June 11,2001
V. Agenda Approval
Ms. Currier and Ms. Girtman both wished to make announcements.
Motion
Ms. Centi moved to accept the agenda as amended. Ms. Williams seconded the motion
that carried unanimously.
VI. Correspondence and Announcements
Ms. Currier announced that Lena Rahming at HeadStart was having a fund-raiser,
selling rib and chicken dinners for $6.00 on June 16, 2001 from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m.
They offered to deliver to those who were unable to come in person. The food was
delicious and the event had been very popular in the past.
Ms. Girtman invited everyone to attend the Treasure Coast Early Learning Center's
annual Pre-K commencement exercises at the Boynton Beach Civic Center on Sunday,
June 8, 2001 at 2:30 p.m.
Chairman Washam expressed the Board's congratulations to the new Commissioner,
Mack McCray.
Ms. Currier mentioned the recent improvements to the Wilson Center Pool and thought
the Community Relations Board should send a thank you letter to the Facilities
Department.
Chairman Washam extended the condolences of the Community Relations Board to the
Boynton Beach Police Department on the loss of its K-9 Zeus, recently killed in the line
of duty. Donations are still being accepted for another dog.
VII. Old Business
A. PATCH Steering Committee
'1) Immunization Van scheduled for appearance at Multicultural
Festival on Saturday, June 30
Mr. DeCarlo reported that PATCH, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Health
Care District, will have the immunization van June 30, 2001 from 10:00 a,m. to 2:00 p.m.
in the East Wing of the Civic Center. In addition to immunizations, tests for hearing and
vision will be available. The van will be at the Wilson Center on August 25, 2001. Ms.
Currier said the van from the County and State normally came at 9 a.m. and Mr. DeCarlo
said they would be ready for them.
Mr. DeCarlo referenced the fact that the member's information packets had included the
minutes of the May 16, 2001 PATCH Steering Committee Meeting and a draft of by-laws
for the Steering Committee.
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Meeting Minutes
Community Relations Board
Boynton ~3each, FI
June 11,2001
B. Multicultural Festival, Saturday, June 30, 2001 from noon to 6:00
p.m. at the Schoolhouse Children's Museum Plaza
The two events will be right across the street from each other and will run concurrently.
Mr. DeCarlo reported that they were expecting to have a Spanish dancing group, a
Hindu group, Chinese Karaoke, and many other types of entertainment.
Instead of having a Community Relations Board booth like last year, Mr. DeCarlo
suggested that the CRB man an information booth for the Sister City Program. Chairman
Washam solicited volunteers, saying that it was important that the community be made
aware of this program. Ms. Currier offered to serve in the booth. Mr. DeCarlo said that
Ms. Shana Weinstein would be telephoning people prior to the Multicultural Event to
confirm participation. The delegation from Boynton Beach's sister city, Qufu, China, was
expected to arrive in August and stay from four to six days. A major celebration and
welcome to the delegation was to take place in August in conjunction with the opening of
the auditorium in the new Boynton Beach Community High School. An exact date was
not available at this time. Mr. DeCarlo highlighted this event as an opportunity for the
CRB to take the lead by encouraging attendance and taking part in the program.
Chairman Washam recalled that many of the Board members had been instrumental in
bringing the new high school into being. The City and the School District were to
sponsor a number of events for the delegation. Mr. DeCarlo said that the CRB could
also assist the Sister City program by actually doing the itinerary for the delegation.
After discussion, the Board made the following motion.
Motion
Ms. Girtman moved that the Community Relations Board serve as hosts for the Sister
City delegation from China in August. Ms. Williams seconded the motion that carried
unanimously.
C. Demonstration Garden/Community Garden Update
Mr. DeCarlo reported that the garden behind the Holiday House on Federal Highway
was almost completed. Over 7,000 plants had been planted, all with name labels and
care instructions. Mr. DeCarlo was thankful for all the volunteers who had helped to
make the planting successful.
The triangle location at 6th and Seacrest was almost completed.
The next project was to be a small garden area between the E-Z Mart and the Farm
Store. This garden would not be in the raised bed style of the other demonstration
gardens but would feature trees indigenous to the Caribbean area.
VIII. New Business
A. Revise Community Relations Board brochure
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Meeting Minutes
Community Relations Board
Boynton Beach, FI
June 11,20_____..~01_
The Board agreed to the following changes to its informational brochure:
· spelling of Commissioner McCray's first name as "Mack"
· correction and addition of some phone numbers
· adding Sister City Program under events sponsored by the group
· including the new name of Black Awareness Celebration (Heritage
Festival)
· making the date the name changed from Inter-Racial Committee to
Community Relations Board 1972
· change word "alleviate" to "address" in first paragraph
· time change of meeting from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Chairman Washam welcomed Stuart Heyer back to the Board for his second meeting.
He also welcomed the new Board member, Juanita Summers, asking her to introduce
herself to the Board.
Ms. Summers said she is normally called Nita. She is the District Manager for Palm
Beach County and Jacksonville for Arvida Realty as well as the manager of the Delray
Beach local office and the Boynton Beach east office on Ocean Avenue. She looked
forward to helping the community and participating as much as possible on the Board.
IX. Audience Comments
Brian Edwards, 629 N.E. 9th Avenue, Boynton Beach addressed the Board, saying
that the Steering Committee was still concerned about the lack of attendance. The
Steering Committee needed a stronger representation from the clergy, financial people,
and the medical field. He encouraged the Board members to read the minutes and make
suggestions on the by-laws if possible. Angela Girtman and Mayor Broening will co-sign
a letter that will be sent to the Chamber and to Bethesda Memorial Hospital, asking for
representation on the Steering Committee. Mr. Edwards reminded everyone that the
point of it all was to establish a not-for-profit medical health care facility staffed by
professionals, to meet the needs of the community. They were following the PATCH
process and accumulating the Assessment data. He reminded the CRB that the PATCH
Steering Committee needed the assistance of the Board members to speak up about the
PATCH program in the community. The regularly scheduled meeting time is the third
Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Conference Room "C", West Wing, City of Boynton Beach.
Chairman Washam expressed appreciation for all Mr. Edwards had done to help get the
project off the ground. He offered the assistance of the Board to move any of the
Chairman Washam
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Steering Committee concerns forward to the City Commission.
realized that it had been a two-year process already, likening it to the long period that
the CRB had worked on getting the new high school before the existence of the
Education Advisory Board, and how long it had taken from inception of the idea to
actually "turning dirt" to build the school. All agreed that it was important to move slowly
but surely and do it right.
Elizabeth Jenkins addressed the Board, saying that although she was no longer a
member of the Board, she was still with the Board in spirit. She spoke of the
Meeting Minutes
COmmunity Relations Board June 11,2001
Boynton Beach, FI
urgent need of the community to get the health center in place. She mentioned that the
project should be modeled after the turtle, who was slow but always moved forward.
She expressed lOve for the Board and offered to do whatever she could to assist in the
project.
Ms. Jenkins thanked Mr. DeCarlo for the beautiful gardens he had brought into
existence. She remarked, however, that the neighborhood association pole painting
project had not been finished. Mr. DeCarlo acknowledged this and said that they had
the paint and would be painting the poles.
Ms. Centi commented that Commissioner Fisher was working on anti-bullying legislation
and she thought this was commendable.
X. Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was duly
adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
The next meeting will be on July 11, 2001.
RespectfullY submitted,
Susan Collins
Recording Secretary
(one tape)
(06/11/01)
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