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Minutes 11-13-02MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMTSSION CHAMBERS, CTTY HALL~ BOYNTON BEACH~ FLOI~DA ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER :~3, 2002 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Ron Washam, Chair Anna Marie Noe, Vice Chair Anne Centi Blanche Girtman Eddie Mitchell Clifford Royael Howard Solomon Brenda Lee Williams Sarah P. Dye, Alternate Dan DeCarlo, Board Liaison Thelma Lyons, Administrative Assistant Absent .los~ Rodriguez Karen E. Loomis, Alternate T. Pledge of Allegiance Chair Washam called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. members in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Mr. Royael led the II. Roll Call - Regular Members and Alternates The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors Chair Washam welcomed the members of the singing group, the Angels Three, a contemporary Christian music trio. Minutes Approval October 9, 2002 Motion Mr. Solomon moved to approve the minutes. and unanimously carried. Motion seconded by Ms. Williams Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2002 V. Agenda Approval There were no changes to the agenda. Motion Ms. Girtman moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Mr. Solomon and unanimously carried. V~[. Correspondence and Announcements Chair Washam mentioned that the Board would soon be involved with the annual turkey distribution in cooperation with the Boynton Beach Police Department. Certificate of Appreciation - Chair Washam The members of the singing group Angels Three accepted with thanks a Certificate of Appreciation from the CRB and the PATCH organizations. Their names are Dawn Robert, Kitty Barbosa, and Ruth Ann Schultz. The Certificate was given in appreciation for the group's inspirational and artistic vocal presentation at the Teen Health Fair sponsored by the Boynton Beach PATCH Committee on Saturday, September 14, 2002. Vice Chair Noe stated that the trio lived in Boynton Beach and volunteered their time. They also sing professionally, are engaged in the prison ministry, and recently appeared for an interview on the local radio station WRMB. The Angels Three presented the Board with a copy of their pictures and a CD of their music so that the appropriate people could be made aware of their services. They would like an opportunity to sing for the City at other events. Chair Washam indicated that he would convey the information to Mr. Dan DeCarlo's oMce. Board Comments to Commissioners Chair Washam, on behalf of the Board, gave thanks to the exiting City Commissioner Charlie Fisher, a hearty welcome to the new Commissioner for District TV, Carl McKoy, and congratulations to Commissioner McCray for his re- election as City Commissioner for District TI. Chair Washam had to leave the meeting at 7:15 p.m. and Vice Chair Noe chaired the meeting from this point onward. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2002 Vice Chair Noe asked if Lena Rahming at HeadStart was going to have a Thanksgiving party this year and no one had heard anything about it. Ms. Girtman stated that the Treasure Chest Early Learning Center planned to have a Thanksgiving celebration on November 26 and invited everyone to attend. VII. Old Business A. Board Liaison Update Ms. Thelma Lyons stated that the County PATCH would meet on November 14 and the Boynton Beach PATCH during the week of November 18. Dan DeCarlo arrived at the meeting at 7:30 p.m. due to a schedule conflict with other City business. He proceeded to update the Board on various matters of interest. Heart of Boynton Mr. DeCarlo reported on the meeting he had just left where the Ridgewood neighborhood elected officers to form their neighborhood association. This was part of a concerted effort on Mr. DeCarlo's part that had as its aim the organization of the various neighborhoods in the Heart of Boynton area. Among other things, the Ridgewood organization decided that they wanted to have a sidewalk on 4th Street, something that had been needed for quite some time. Mr. DeCarlo mentioned that he had found some outstanding community leaders during the leadership training effort portion of the Heart of Boynton implementation. Mr. DeCarlo also reported that Galaxy Elementary School was having transitional challenges due to the changing of school boundaries. He felt that they really needed to know that the City was in a partnership with them. Mr. DeCarlo told the Board members how much the Board meant to so many people. He advised them that a great many people read the minutes of the CRB, including City Commissioners and many Department heads. The Board provides a liaison between the communities and the City and people pay attention to what the Board has to say. Historically, many issues have come before the Board and the Board has provided the necessary leadership to solve problems and empower individuals to effect positive change. Mr. DeCarlo spoke to Rev. Chaney of St. John's Missionary Baptist Church at the CRA meeting the previous night and Rev. Chaney was very excited about what was going on with his church and in the City. Reverend Wright of the Boynton Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2002 Hill Church of God was also excited because things were finally starting to happen in his neighborhood. ]:t was nice to know that a sense of community was beginning to develop with everyone having a role to play. Mr. DeCarlo expressed his gratitude for his Administrative Assistant, Thelma Lyons, for her invaluable assistance. Ms. Lyons has lived in Boynton Beach all of her life and is acquainted with many of the residents in the Heart of Boynton. Her knowledge of the needs and desires of the community is very helpful to Mr. DeCarlo as he goes about the business of organizing the neighborhoods and encouraging people to become agents of positive change for themselves and their neighborhoods. The downtown will be extended northward from City Hall. The church on the corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Seacrest Boulevard will be spending $4M to build a beautiful church that will be the entry into the neighborhood and into the downtown. Through the use of similar banners and landscaping in the northern area and the existing downtown, Mr. DeCarlo hoped that a sense of connectedness would arise. He was actively working on duplicating the banners on Ocean Avenue for Martin L. King, .lr. Boulevard and Seacrest Boulevard - not just at Christmas, but also throughout the year. Mr. DeCarlo thought that once construction had begun on the garage for the Marina project after the first of the year, things would move a little faster. He noted that this project would put over $1M in the CRA's coffers from tax increment funds and that basically, this money was slated to be spent in the Heart of Boynton area. As the changes begin to take place, Mr. DeCarlo hoped that it would send a signal that the City was serious about developing the Heart of Boynton area. He also hoped that the residents would take responsibility for their own lives and in some cases, take back their neighborhoods. Holiday Lighting for the Ezell Hester Center - Eddie Mitchell Mr. Mitchell suggested that the City might want to grace the Hester Center with lights and decorations in the same way it now does for the Ocean Avenue area, the Children's Museum, the Library, and the old high school. He asked Mr. DeCarlo to look into this. Mr. DeCarlo agreed with Mr. Mitchell about the desirability of putting Christmas lights and decorations around the Hester Center and remarked that he had written to the Recreation Director Wally Majors about this topic today. He stated that he would discuss it further with Mr. Majors on the day after this meeting. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2002 Renovation of Boynton Terrace Apartments vs. Demolition - Eddie Mitchell Mr. Mitchell stated that last week, the people who operate Boynton Terrace Apartments had a meeting with the tenants and told them about the big things they planned to do to renovate the Boynton Terrace Apartments around the first of 2003. He asked if the Heart of Boynton Plan had an element calling for the complete removal of the Boynton Terrace Apartments and if so, when. It seemed wasteful to him to renovate the Boynton Terrace Apartments if they were only going to be torn down and removed as part of the Heart of Boynton Plan. Mr. DeCarlo reported that the Boynton Terrace Apartments area had not been included in the Heart of Boynton Plan because the developer was trying to get a grant to renovate the area. When the developer did get the grant, the City decided to do whatever it could to help that project be a good neighbor. Octavia Sherrod is funding the purchase of a parking lot, which was needed in order to gain approval for the project. Mr. DeCarlo was taking $50K from his budget to assist with landscaping and security issues at the site and a number of other City departments were participating as well. The developer will be coming to the City for design issues and site plan approval and this will also help to insure that the project is done in a way that will please the City, the residents of Boynton Terrace, and the surrounding neighborhoods. CRB's Role Mr. DeCarlo encouraged the Board to take an active role in PATCH and neighborhood issues, inviting them to attend meetings on these and related subjects to make their voices heard. Christmas Parade Ms. Brenda Williams asked why the City had changed the venue of the Christmas Parade this year. Also, she was not in favor of the 9:00 a.m. start time. Several Board members echoed Ms. Williams' thoughts. Since the City was trying to redevelop its downtown and draw people there, the feeling was that having the Parade elsewhere was sending the wrong message. Also, people felt that when it was on Federal Highway, there was a greater feeling of involvement on the part of the audience than could be afforded at the Congress Avenue location. The Board did not feel that this change of venue was fair to the merchants in the downtown area. Some felt also that having the Parade on Federal Highway would have given the residents an opportunity to see the improvements that have been made so far on Ocean Avenue. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2002 Mr. DeCarlo responded that he believed the change in venue for the Parade was done in order to draw the residents near that area into the City's activities; also, the use of Motorola as a staging area had advantages. He was not sure whether or not the change of venue was permanent. He also commented that the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) had about $50K in its budget for activities and would be having something like a street party on Ocean Avenue on the day of the Parade. Work with CRA to Generate Events - Mr. Solomon Mr. Solomon suggested that the Board undertake some projects next year in conjunction with the CRA that would serve to draw the western residents into the mainstream of the City's activities. Motion Mr. Solomon moved that the CRB work in conjunction with the CRA to plan events to bring people to the downtown area. This work would be on a continual basis and not a one-time thing. Ms. Centi seconded the motion that passed unanimously. VIII. New Business Mr. Mitchell suggested that the Board cancel its December meeting since people were so busy with holiday activities. Motion Ms. Williams moved that the CRB dispense with its December 11, 2002 meeting. Ms. Girtman seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IX. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (one tape)