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Minutes 12-10-03MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2003 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Anna Marie Noe, Vice Chair Eddie Mitchell Brenda Lee Williams Jose Rodriguez Sarah P. Dye, Alternate Robert Harper, Alternate Absent Ron Washam, Chairman Anne Centi Blanche Girtman Jayne Kupperman Howard Solomon Pledge of Allegiance Dan DeCarlo, Board Liaison In the absence of Chairman Washam, Vice Chair Noe presided. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. and members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. II. Roll Call - Regular Members and Alternates The Recording Secretary called the roll and a quorum was present. Recognition of Visitors Approval of November 12th Minutes approve the minutes. Motion seconded by Mr. Mitchell and III. None IV. Motion Ms. Dye moved to unanimously carried. V. Agenda Approval Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 10, 2003 Motion Mr. Mitchell moved to approve the agenda. Motion seconded by Ms. Dye and unanimously carried. VI. Correspondence and Announcements None VII. Old Business 1. PATCH Activities Update Mr. DeCarlo reported that PATCH is still trying to find a location and has had to utilize various church and day care facilities for their programs. There will be a mammogram screening at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday morning. He also noted that Bethesda Hospital is willing to donate a trailer to PATCH, but they need a parcel of land to place it on. At the last Commission meeting, a brief report on PATCH was made to the new Commission and PATCH asked to be placed on a future agenda of the Commission and the Community Redevelopment Board. They will be meeting with Assistant City Manager Wilfred Hawkins next week to discuss the location of a facility. Mr. DeCarlo noted that the newspapers were providing good press for the PATCH Program and PATCH will be looking into the needs of the Haitian Community as well. He pointed out that the PATCH Board is very committed and the people who are serving on the Board are doing a wonderful job. Ms. Williams asked if there has been any progress in acquiring the trailer. Mr. DeCarlo explained that it actually is a modular building that Bethesda no longer needs and is willing to donate to PATCH. He pointed out that the building would have to be moved and erected. Also, the maintenance of the trailer needs to be determined, as well as staffing. The building would also provide space for meetings and activities that they currently do not have. Ms. Dye inquired if the City was cooperating in finding a place for the trailer. Mr. DeCarlo pointed out that this would be discussed at the meeting with Mr. Hawkins. Originally, PATCH was under the assumption that once the new Wilson Center was built, they would be able to have some of their activities there, but this is not the case. Not only does a location need to be found, but also there is the cost of preparing the site. Vice Chair Noe asked if the new City Commission was behind PATCH. Mr. DeCarlo stated that this is something that the PATCH Board is working on. Mr. DeCarlo did not Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 10, 2003 think that the cost to the City would be great. It might involve some overhead and some maintenance initially, but PATCH at some point wants to be self-sufficient. In the beginning, PATCH does need the City to get started. There has been no commitment at this time from the City Commission. Vice Chair Noe inquired if the Community Relations Board could assist with this and Mr. DeCarlo thought that this was possible. The PATCH Board is trying to get an audience with the Commission at this time. Mr. DeCarlo was not sure how long Bethesda would hold onto the trailer and may ultimately tear it down if PATCH does not take it. He felt that the Board could play a role in this by demonstrating to the Commission that there is a community wide need for this type of facility. Vice Chair Noe requested that when PATCH addresses the Commission, Board members should be notified so that they could attend to lend their support. Mr. DeCarlo said that he would provide a report to the Board on the meeting with Mr. Hawkins. He also stated that the Board could assist in finding additional resources for PATCH so that the City would be relieved of financial responsibility. Mr. Rodriguez stated that the Community Relations Board would like to be part of the recommendation that is made to the City Commission. Mr. DeCado will convey this to PATCH and to Mr. Hawkins. Mr. DeCarlo noted that the PATCH Board has been trying to meet with Doug Hutchinson, the CRA Director since last August, but has not been successful. Sister Lorraine did speak to the CRA Board at their last meeting and, hopefully, she will be successful in getting a meeting with Mr. Hutchinson. Mr. Rodriguez inquired why the CRA has not agreed to meet with PATCH and Mr. DeCarlo was not certain; it might be because the CRA has other priorities. Mr. DeCarlo also thought that it might worthwhile for members of this Board to address the CRA Board regarding PATCH and the community. Vice Chair Noe referred to the meetings that were held in the Heart of Boynton area where residents attended to voice their needs and concerns. It was at those meetings that the residents stated that there was a need for better healthcare in the community. Mr. DeCarlo agreed with Vice Chair Noe and recognized that at those meetings the two greatest concerns of the community were crime and healthcare. Vice Chair Noe would like to see the CRA take more of an interest in the needs of the community and questioned why they are not responding to what the residents said that they wanted. Mr. Rodriguez stated that the Board should put together a recommendation and bring it to the CRA and the Commission. Mr. DeCarlo recommended inviting the PATCH Board back to the next meeting to discuss these issues at greater length. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 10, 2003 Ms. Williams felt that they should attend a CRA meeting and ask to be placed on the agenda. Mr. DeCado stated that Sister Lorraine, as well as himself, had asked to be placed on the agenda and they were denied. This is what prompted Sister Lorraine to speak at a CRA meeting during the Public Audience portion. Mr. DeCarlo also thought that the Board needs to consider what it wants to do for the community and to go into the community to determine what the issues are out there that need to be addressed. Vice Chair Noe felt that it was important that the Board have some figures for the cost of relocating the trailer and maintaining it. Mr. DeCarlo stated that they are working on that now and this will be contained in his report. Also, it needs to be determined who would be paying for all this and where the funds would be coming from. Mr. DeCarlo felt that it was important to find revenue streams outside the City. Before anything can be done, a location must be found. Vice Chair Noe pointed out that Bethesda receives money from the Health Care District and that it would be important to get them involved as well. This would enable Bethesda to use the PATCH facility as a walk-in clinic. Mr. DeCarlo also thought that it was important that the Community Relations Board and PATCH show their support to Bethesda. In doing this, he felt that Bethesda would be more likely to help PATCH make it work. 2. Community Relations Board Brochure Mr. DeCarlo distributed the revised brochure. Vice Chair Noe recommended tabling this item until the next meeting when more Board members were present. Motion Mr. Rodriguez moved to table until next year. Mr. DeCarlo requested that members look over the brochure. He will mail copies of the brochure to the members who were not present at tonight's meeting. Ms. Williams asked if Mr. DeCarlo received any feedback from the last meeting and he said that he did receive some comments from Board members. Ms. Williams recommended placing it on the January agenda. Vote Ms. Dye seconded the motion that unanimously carried. VIII. New Business 1. What are CRB future goals? Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 10, 2003 Mr. Rodriguez wished to amend his previous motion because he felt that these two topics were tied together and should be addressed together. Motion Mr. Rodriguez moved to table the CRB Brochure and the CRB future goals as one topic for the New Year. Ms. Williams seconded the motion that unanimously carried. Mr. Rodriguez reported that he spoke at the previous Commission Meeting regarding crime in the southeast section of town, as his vehicle was stolen from his driveway Thanksgiving evening. He wanted to publicly thank the Police Department who are looking at the neighborhood to put together a plan and make recommendations for improvement. Mr. Rodriguez was pleased that the Holiday Parade was held on Federal Highway this year. He would like to see the neighborhoods become more involved. He thought that the City could have a float contest to provide every neighborhood an opportunity to create a float in support of diversity in the neighborhoods. This could be passed down from year-to-year. He noted that there were not many floats this year and he thought that having a contest would encourage more participation. Mr. DeCarlo thought that this was a good idea. Vice Chair Noe recommended that this be included on the January agenda. She noted that they would also be discussing holding Board meetings in different communities. Vice Chair Noe also requested that this be added to the January agenda as well. IX. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (December 17, 2003) 5