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Minutes 09-27-99MI'NUTES OF THE .lO'tNT CI'TY COMMI'SSI'ON/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP MEETING HELD AT THE LI'BRARY ON MONDAY,, SEPTEMBER 27, 1.999 @ 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Gerald Broening, Mayor Henderson Tillman, Vice Mayor William Sherman, Mayor Pro Tem Ronald Weiland, Commissioner Others Present: Ken Kaleel, Kathy Shabotynskyj, Mike Bottcher, Jeanne Heavilin, Jim Darst, Al DeMarco, Rick Leonard, Michael Hazlett, Harvey Oyer, Dagmar Brahs, Ron Groen, JoAnn Groen, Lee Wische, Herb Suss, Kevin Scully CALL TO ORDER Mayor Broening called the Joint Workshop meeting to order at 7:07 p.m., and introduced Virginia Farace, Library Director, to address the first issue on the agenda. CITY'S IMAGE Ms. Farace reported that she and Wilfred Hawkins had just returned from the City/County Communications & Marketing Association Convention. The workshops were wonderful and to the point. There was one seminar on image. Several ideas came forth from communities with respect to how they survey and work with their communities. They developed their "brand". This is the approach we will look toward when we meet with the Chamber in our joint public image workshop on Tuesday, October 12th at 10:00 a.m. at the Library. The group will' define the City's image and work toward making Boynton Beach the city we know it can be. Ms. Farace distributed copies of the Economic Development brochure containing a new logo, "Boynton Beach -The Wave of the Future". The brochure contains wonderful information about the City. As part of the packet, there is a brochure that talks about water quality and the Utilities Department brochure about the City and its utility. These brochures will add to the City's image. Mayor Broening explained that he went through a Government Public Affairs course many years ago with the Air Force at Boston University and spent six months working on the subject. On the last day, the lead professor summed up the course by saying, "Good performance is good public affairs". Mayor Broening believes that is what this City needs starting with the Commissioners. Every employee, citizen and person in the City must be involved in the process of good performance and must be committed to improving what we do. This is what will improve the City's image. While Mayor Broening knows improvements are being made, they are not as visible as they should be. Mayor Broening feels confident that staff is doing an excellent job. He reported that he heard a horror story about the way staff treated someone. Mayor Broening knows the staff person, and that person is doing a good job. MEET'rNG M'rNUTES 30'rNT C'rTY COMMI'SSTON/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLOR.I:DA SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 Mayor Broening said he has been involved in many corporations and he knows the City's operation is a first class effort. However, he feels the City needs someone who is responsible for marketing and public affairs. A position was approved in the Fiscal Year :~999/2000 budget and Mayor Broening is hopeful a person with public affairs experience will be hired. He would like this person to write the Charter. He also wants a person who can represent the City and interface with every entity in the City. Ms. Heavilin admitted that the City's image is not very good at the moment. However, she was present at the last City Commission meeting when an announcement was made about a grant that was secured by Utilities Department staff for improvements on Ocean Avenue. She pointed out that this kind of information is important for the public to be aware of. Mayor Broening believes it is necessary to build a common objective to work on image. The public affairs person must be adept at building a rapport and common objective to work on the City's image. This will be one of the most important positions in the City. We need someone who has a finger on the pulse of the City and this person will expedite, coordinate and get the job done. Herb Suss reported that he has had great experiences with City staff in the City Clerk's Department, the Library, Customer Relations and the Police Department. These people must be recognized. Ken Kaleel said it is very important to "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative" and suggested using this phrase as a theme. Every successful city is beating with one beat. Everyone is focussed in a positive direction. This City's biggest asset is its people. :If people only read the newspapers, they would be depressed because the print media does not write about the good things. We need to make sure we give them nothing to write about that is negative. We must feed them the positive things. The City and the Chamber can work together to make sure various elements are working in a positive forward manner. This may not be an easy task, but it must be done because it is vital to the success of the City. :Image is very important and we must work in harmony to eliminate the negative forces. Mike Bottcher asked if there would be a facilitator at the workshop meeting. Ms. Farace responded affirmatively and stated that she hopes the group will agree on a process and follow through on a marketing plan for the City and its image. When Mr. Bottcher asked whether a dollar amount was involved, Mayor Broening said he thought there was approximately $50,000 available in the budget. Ms. Farace was of the opinion that money was not an issue at this point. The group will need to decide on what direction to take. Vice Mayor Tillman arrived at 7:24 p.m. Al DeMarco pointed out that we have a negative news media and this is frightening to him because the younger generation is watching this. We must be positive and be good will ambassadors for the City. Mr. DeMarco reminded everyone that"~'he wrote an article for the Chamber bulletin that addressed all of the positive things that have been happening. He urged everyone to continue to focus on those positives in order to move forward. MEET'~NG MZNUTES 3OTNT CTTY COMMZSSTON/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACHf FLOR.I:DA SEPTEMBER 27f 1999 Harvey Oyer urged the Commissioners to begin to address the real issues. He said the City has become a laughing stock because of the inability of the Commission to make a decision. Former candidates who lost the election are causing most of the conversation. However, he feels the Commissioners must decide to do their jobs and hire a City Manager. The candidates who lost the election have taken control of the Commission agenda.. He urged the Commission to turn this around. He recommended that Wilfred Hawkins be given a sabbatical, given a year at a reduced salary and an opportunity to study when the new City Manager is hired. Mr. Kaleel explained to Mr. Oyer that the main focus of this discussion is to end the finger pointing and blame. This City Commission has things they must correct and the Chamber has other things that must be corrected. The key is working together. The goal of the workshop is to try to work together. Everyone is aware of the negatives. Mayor Broening explained that the City Commission is moving ahead with a retreat. He believes that will help resolve the issues that were raised by Mr. Oyer. This Commission is apart on an issue, but is together as a unit on the broad objectives. The retreat will allow the Commission to find a focus and define details. COMMUNI'TY FOUNDATI'ON Mr. Kaleel feels the Community Foundation could be a huge positive for the City if it is done properly. He has attended meetings with Melody Green, but he does not know the Commission's position on this issue. Mayor Broening said there was some movement at the staff level, but there has been no discussion at the Commission level in a public forum. Vice Mayor Tillman expressed concern about who would fund a Community Foundation and how much it would cost. Mr. Kaleel said the goal was to bring the community together and replace what was a City function with a community function. The proceeds would go back to the community. He explained that unless there is a deep pocket, there is no one who could take on the G.A.L.A. the way it is currently being operated and funded. Tt was the Chamber's understanding that the City wanted to get out of the G.A.L.A. The Chamber discussed it, but it did not meet with open arms. The creation of a Foundation would benefit the community. The City would fund it whether or not they maintain it. If more people from the community could become involved, the funding could be eliminated in three to four years and the G.A.L.A. could be self-supporting. Mr. Kaleel said the Community Foundation would be a volunteer effort. However, the Community Foundation could not afford to take on G.A.L.A. because it has no funding source immediately. During the first year the Foundation is established, the volunteers could work with staff. Over progression of two or three years, the Foundation would begin to take over functions and they will have a funding source. Vice Mayor Tillman asked how the Foundation would be set up. MEETING MTNUTES .1OI'NT CI'TY COMMTSSION/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORZDA SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 Mayor Broening said it would be a community effort. The concept could be that the City would continue to provide the support while involving the Chamber of Commerce, service organizations and clubs. Over a period of years, the total responsibility for functions such as G.A.L.A. would evolve to be the total responsibility of the Foundation. Mayor Broening said this works in other places and it could work here in Boynton Beach. Mr. Kaleel said it would be a joint collaboration between the Chamber and the City in bringing on other civic groups. Working together, we can bring in other organizations and if you had a board of 13 volunteers, it could be made up of a wide variety of people from the community. The City must be involved to provide continuity. This would be working in harmony. If G.A.L.A. turns a profit in the future and has net proceeds, it could benefit things in the community. As an example, if the community wanted to build Kids Kingdom, the Community Foundation could have played a big roll in sponsoring events to fund it. Mayor Broening explained that the City does all of the work for G.A.L.A., spending hundreds of hours on it. There was a movement within staff to eventually turn over the responsibility for the coordination of G.A.L.A. to the Chamber. However, there would be a transition period to phase it in. The City would continue its responsibility for several years until the evolution was complete. The situation would be the same with the Foundation. The City would have similar responsibilities from a financial and staff standpoint, but we would establish a Foundation to do events like G.A.L.A. The Foundation could take on the Old High School as a project and investigate the possibility of securing grants and public/private developers. The Foundation could raise money. Mayor Broening feels this is a good concept. Mr. Wische asked Mayor Broening to identify other cities that have this concept. Mayor Broening could not provide a response with respect to Florida, but offered to provide some models of this concept. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman felt the timing of this suggestion was poor since this Commission inherited a "pot of stew". The new Commission picked up what was remaining from the prior Commission and Mayor Pro Tem Sherman feels the Commission has done a good job of making decisions with the exception of the City Manager. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman would like to know what the City is capable of doing. He said this discussion was about additional board members and he was unaware that a board existed. Mike Hazlett said this "one up thing" is getting old. He is a member of the Chamber and is used to seeing good relationships between cities and the Chambers. He urged everyone to move ahead. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman pointed out that the Chamber of Commerce is not being panned in the newspapers, but the City Commission is. He said the Commission was being asked to take a position on something it has no history on. Mr. Oyer said that when G.A.L.A. got started, it was primarily the Chamber of Commerce and civic organizations that were involved. The City got involved and it was a feather in their caps. MEE'D~NG MZNUTES 3OI'NT C1'TY COMM1'SS]:ON/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLOR.I:DA SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 The real proble ~n~'providing public safety. There are high overtime costs invo~l~,ed and the civic groups are being charged more than they make. Therefore, they sto~J~rticipating. He explained that Kiwanis tried to figure out how much profit they made ~ feTM years ago. They determined they made a profit of approximately $4 per hour. Mr. Oyer explained that it would be easier to give a check as a donation than to spend the hours required to earn a profit of $4 per hour. Mr. Oyer said West Palm Beach and others are experiencing the same problems. Mayor Broening reiterated that with the establishment of a Community Foundation, there would be no costs over what the City is already paying and the costs would decrease over time. The City would have to have a financial interest in it. The Foundation could pick up the primary responsibility for the coordination, execution and financing of the event. The largest cost comes from Police Officers, Firefighters and City staff hours. These are costs that Mayor Broening envisions going away. There is a positive element of having a Foundation because they could address many areas depending on how the Charter was defined. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman recommended delaying this discussion until a City Manager is hired. He feels the City Manager could provide a great deal of input. Mayor Broening agreed with Mayor Pro Tem Sherman on the timing issue. Mr. Hazlett realized the importance of appointing a City Manager, but pointed out that business must move forward. Vice Mayor Tillman feels the main problem is the lack of a concept presented to the Commission. He would like to see something. Moving all events into a Cultural Council or Community Foundation is a good idea, but he wants to see how everything woUld fit together. The Commission could then look at the concept and fine tune it. He wants a concrete plan from the beginning. Mr. Kaleel agreed. However, he explained that this issue was brought up in May of this year under this Commission's leadership and the current City Manager's leadership. The Chamber discussed it and decided it is not a Chamber function. The Chamber is now trying to facilitate it. He agreed that the Commission needs more facts and information, but pointed out that the Commission must first endorse the concept because it requires a great deal of work to develop a plan. The Chamber is tired of making the effort only to get to the end point and get shot down. He asked the Commission to be honest about whether or not they liked the concept that was presented. Ms. Shabotynskyj reported that the City's Recreation staff organized strategic planning sessions last year. They wanted to give G.A.L.A. ownership to the community, wanted to improve it and turn a profit on the event. Staff felt that by improving G.A.L.A., it would bring a better image to Boynton Beach. As a result of the sessions, they came up with a strategic plan to turn it over. As the group went through models, they decided on the establishment of a Community Foundation. The Executive Board of G.A.L.A. made this recommendation. This would result in being less dependent on City "coffers" down the road. MEETING MTNUTES .10~'NT C'rTY COMM'rss'roN/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORZDA SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 Vice Mayor Tillman explained that when the group went from discussion of the type of organization to deliberation, it should have gone before the City Commission. This issue should not be part of the Commission/Chamber workshop meetings. Ms. Shabotynskyj said they would like to go back to the Commission. However, this is an intermediary step. Mr. Kaleel added that as of the May meeting, the issue was supposed to go to the Commission. A letter was sent to Wilfred Hawkins stating that position. Mr. DeMarco suggested checking with other cities like Delray Beach and New Orleans to see how they handle their projects. He offered to contact the "Orange Bowl Committee" in Dade County to get information. Mr. Kaleel reported that Melody Green called a meeting in August to talk about this. He was surprised this issue was not brought before the Commission. The goal was not for this to occur in Year 2000. However, shadowing could occur in Year 2000 and the joint effort could begin in 2001. The Chamber feels it is good for the community from a marketing perspective, but the Commission must determine if it is good from a business standpoint. Mr. Kaleel reminded everyone that if Walt Disney had checked to see what others were doing, there would be no Walt Disney World today. Sometimes things have a birthplace. He urged the Commissioners to think outside the box. The group was hopeful that shadowing in Year 2000 would still be feasible if the Commission approved the concept. Commissioner Weiland believes a Foundation could work in Boynton Beach if everyone checked his/her ego at the door. Tt would be important to work on getting the volunteers to do the shadowing and it would take a great deal of hard work from the civic organizations. Commissioner Weiiand said a team could be organized to work on this. Mr. Darst said the G.A.L.A. Committee should provide the Commission with a recommendation within the next 30 days. Mayor Broening said the Commission would be looking for a formal recommendation from staff. :In response to Ms. Shabotynskyj, Mayor Broening said the recommendation should include the shadowing so that people have an understanding of the process. It should also be a broad outline including a time line of how it would work and it should include models so that we can learn from what people have already done. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman asked that the recommendation include a definition of the City money involved including staff hours. Mr. Suss thought it would be a major error to do this now. He recommended waiting until a City Manager is hired. He warned the Commissioners that they are going in too many directions at one time and will do more harm than good to the City. Mr. Kaleel announced that he would skip the issues of the City's Support of Local Businesses and Community Redevelopment Agency to address the Chamber of Commerce Role. MEET:ENG MTNUTES 30]:NT CZTY COMMTSSZON/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA SEPTEMBER 27f 1999 Role of the Chamber of Commerce Mr. Kaleel clarified that the goal of the Chamber of Commerce is to propel the City in a positive fashion. He asked for discussion on the relationship between the City and the Chamber and requested input regarding what the City Commission expects from the Chamber. Mr. Kaleel wanted information on how the Chamber of Commerce could add value to help the Commission do a better job. Mayor Broening said he has been involved with Chambers of Commerce since 1962 when he was assigned to an Air Force Base in Orlando. The population of Orlando was 25,000 at that time. Ongoing today is $2.5 billion of development in progress. The Orlando City Hall is a nine- story building and the City relies on the Chamber of Commerce for a lot of reasons. Mayor Broening has been involved in Chambers that were very proactive and good and others that were social clubs. His last experience was in Chula Vista, California. It was a town of 51,000 people that faced problems much like those in Boynton Beach. They had no discernible downtown and it was a former agricultural town. The Chamber played a great role and still continues to play a great role in that town. Today, the population of the town is 151,000. The City took the bull by the horns and allowed the Chamber to provide them with things. They used every resource they had available and the Chamber took the lead in marketing for the City. The town relies on the Chamber for their development department brochures and marketing brochures. Mayor Broening is aware of the fact that there has been tension between City government 'and the Chamber even though he doesn't know why. He would like to start using the Chamber for things they can accomplish. The Chamber might even be able to produce marketing brochures. Tt is necessary to use civic groups and every positive thing that is available in this City. Commissioner Weiland sees the Chamber promoting the City in a positive way because they are promoting the businesses of our community and are attempting to get involved in helping to take over G.A.L.A. Although the former Commission stopped the Chamber, Commissioner Weiland believes it is important to work together. In his opinion, the Chamber is a positive asset. He believes there is tension between the City and the Chamber even though he doesn't know the reason for that tension. He would like to see those tensions go away and he is hopeful the City and Chamber can work together as a team. Vice Mayor Tillman feels the Chamber could do more in terms of outreach. He does not see enough diversity in the Chamber. He suggested that the Chamber do a better job in this area by being more aggressive and adding people of color and diversity. He pointed out the need for a strong economic base. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman said he doesn't hold any particular competition with the Chamber as a Commission member and has not formed any of those feelings. However, he has a need for more information. He felt Mr. DeMarco's suggestion to go to the Orange Bowl Committee was a recommendation of substance. He would give the recommendation careful consideration if that MEETTNG MTNUTES .1Oi'NT CI'TY COMMTSSZON/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 information were included. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman wants to see what the Chamber is doing. Tf the Chamber provided a marketing brochure, it would bring businesses to Boynton Beach. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman said he has been coming to Boynton Beach for 30 years and is constantly asked why the downtown is dormant. He would like to see redevelopment in the downtown. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman believes this City is doing fine. He pointed out that this City is driven by the City Manager - not the City Commission. :It is very important to select a City Manager, but the City needs to continue working during that process. He urged everyone to be patient and continue providing the Commission with information. Mr. Kaleel summarized the remarks as follows: · / From the Mayor's perspective, the Chamber should take a leadership role in developing marketing material. Commissioner Weiland mentioned tension between the City and Chamber. Mr. Kaleel said he wanted to dispel that myth because the Chamber wants to work together with the City. Vice Mayor Tillman spoke about community outreach. Mr. Kaleel agreed with him and requested his help. The Chamber is open to this recommendation. Vice Mayor Tillman said the Chamber must make a bold effort. He agreed to work on this issue with the Chamber. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman would like more information and input from the Chamber. Mr. Kaleel asked if Mayor Pro Tern Sherman would like the Chamber to take a position and provide background information on agenda issues. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman said he would like more information on Chamber business. He did not feel it was necessary for the Chamber to provide input on the agendas the Commission is asked to consider. Mr. Kaleel asked if it would be appropriate to provide Chamber input on the impact of decisions on agenda items as they relate to the business community. Mayor Pro Tem Sherman would not be opposed to receiving that information as long as all of the Commissioners were provided with the same information. Commissioner Weiland asked if the Chamber is working with City staff on talking to the/Va#o/Ta/ £/~¢~//)-e/:. Mr. Kaleel believed the Chamber should be working with staff on this issue because it would be a great opportunity. He requested that the Chamber be informed when issues such as this arise so that a coordinated effort could be developed. Mr. Kaleel said the Commission would have to make a policy decision that would direct staff work with the Chamber in this area. Mr. Wische said he has been active in politics for 27 years and he has asked every chairman of the Chamber if it was a function of the Chamber of Commerce to bring business into the City. The answer was always yes, but when he asked what was done, he never received an answer. MEE'I'~NG MZNUTES .1OTNT CTTY COMMt'SSTON/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH,, FLOR.I:DA SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 Mr. Kaleel said a better question would be "What have we done collectively?" Mr. Hazlett recommended that a letter be prepared and signed by the President and Chairman of the Chamber and the Mayor and City Commission collectively to be sent to the Chairman of the Board of the /Vat/o, qa/£/~¢u/rer. Mr. Kaleel suggested that someone within the community might know someone who could zero in on someone else with respect to this issue. In summary, Mr. Kaleel feels that as soon as the Chamber and City stop saying "you and I" and change that phrase to "we", this City will propel itself. The Chamber and the City will make a concerted effort to do that. Ms. Shabotynskyj said she and Dale Sugerman are meeting with two developers in the next two weeks to talk about opportunities in Boynton Beach. They are also working with American Media that owns/1/at/o, qa/E/7¢u/re/'and they are very close to bringing them to Boynton Beach. The Commissioners were agreeable to Ms. Shabotynskyj's offer to work with Dale Sugerman to identify a process to wOrk together to involve the Chamber and members of the Commission. AD.1OURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 8:45 p.m. A-I-FEST: erk ( D.,,~puty City Clerk ~('~WO -Japes) ~/t,~ce ~,,,ayor Mayor Pro Tem Comm~r Commissioner 9/29/99 10:37 AM