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Minutes 01-22-04 MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH MEETING HELD IN THE ART CENTER, IN BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2004 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Steve Waldman, Chair Sherri Claude, Board Liaison Mary Morera, Vice Chair Evelyn Geathers Hattie Miller Steve Miller Willie Pearl Wilson Phyllis Stern, Alternate Julie Claude, Student-Regular Voting Member Absent Lori Wilkinson I. Call to Order Chair Waldman opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. I1. Moment of Silent Prayer/Pledge of Allegiance The Board recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by the observance of a silent prayer. III. Approval of Minutes of December 18, 2003 Meeting Ms. Sherri Claude noted that on page two of the minutes, under Boxtops for Education, the second paragraph should be deleted. Motion Ms. Miller moved to approve the minutes of the December 18, 2003 meeting, as amended. Ms. Stern seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IV. Approval of Agenda Motion Mr. Miller moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Vice Chair Morera, and carried unanimously. V. Announcements/Presentations/Correspondence 1) Assistant City Attorney Mike Pawelczyk (Florida Sunshine Law) Meeting Minutes Advisory Board on Children & Youth Boynton Beach, Florida .lanuary 22, 2004 Attorney Pawelczyk explained that he was an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Boynton Beach employed by the law firm of Goren, Cherof, Doody & Ezrol - the law firm that has served the City of Boynton Beach since 1990. He has many years of experience with the City and municipal government. The City Attorney's Office will be giving presentations on the Florida Sunshine Law/Public Records to all Boards that provide advice to the City Commission and the administration. Attorney Pawelczyk distributed copies of the statutes that he would be addressing as follows: (1) the Sunshine Law, (2) the Public Records Law, and (3) the Code of Ethics. (1) The Sunshine Law means government in the sunshine and that means that it is accessible to the public. The authority for the Sunshine Law is cited in Section 286.011 of the Florida Statutes and in the Florida Constitution. This provides the right of access to government at the state and local levels. Attorney Pawelczyk explained that the law requires that all meetings must be noticed. The law has three basic requirements. The first one is "reasonable" notice, which is done by the Clerk's Office, and that is generally interpreted to mean 72 hours prior to a meeting (24 hours for an emergency meeting.) Secondly, all meetings must be open to the public. Lastly, minutes of the meeting must be recorded. It is not a requirement that minutes are taped using audio or visual devices, but the City does record its meetings using audio equipment and there is a recording secretary present to take notes in order to prepare the minutes. Certain boards, such as the Code Board, must be recorded using some kind of audio device whereas this Board would only be required to provide minutes. Because this is an advisory board to the City Commission, members are subject to the Sunshine Law. Attorney Pawelczyk explained that any discussions that members have as a Board must take place on the dais. Two Board members cannot be at a place other than a noticed Board meeting and discuss any matter that could possibly come before this Board and the same situation exists using E-mail. Chair Waldman asked Attorney Pawelczyk about workshop meetings and Attorney Pawelczyk stated that discussions of Board business were fine at workshops as long as they met the three requirements: 1) noticed in a reasonable amount of time (usually 72 hours) prior, 2) must be open to the public, and 3) minutes must be taken, but it would not be necessary for this Board to record a workshop meeting. If a recording secretary were to be present at a workshop, the meeting would be recorded, however. Another question was what would happen if, for example, the Chair talked to the Board Liaison about a Board matter and she spoke to another Board member, telling them what the Chair said. Attorney Pawelczyk stated that this would be a violation of Sunshine Law. Every discussion needs to be in an open, public meeting. Attorney Pawelczyk noted that E-mail, correspondence, and memorandums on matters related to Board business could also be a violation of Sunshine Law, particularly if the rest of the Board were not copied on the communication. Attorney Pawelczyk did not advise communicating by E-mail, but stated that if it were to be done, everyone on the 2 Meeting Minutes Advisory Board on Children & Youth Boynton Beach, Florida January 22, 2004 Board should receive a copy of it. He noted that E-mail on a person's home computer, if it pertained to Board business, would be considered Public Record. There are criminal and civil penalties involved, but Attorney Pawelczyk believed that there had only been one occasion when a person was prosecuted for Sunshine violations. However, Board members should be cognizant of this. If any Board member has a question as to what constitutes a Sunshine violation, they are urged to contact the City Attorney through the Board's liaison. Every Board member should prevent the appearance of impropriety. Board members should still enjoy their personal relationships with each other, but should be cognizant of what they are doing. (2) Public Records. Everything that comes out of this Board and is prepared for this Board is public record, i.e. tapes, discs, notes, and any documents that pertain to the business of the Board. Attorney Pawelczyk noted that there was a large court case involving E-mail that dealt with public records. This includes any E-mail to and from staff if it relates to government matters and duties of being a Board member. The E-mail case involved employees that were conversing back and forth on a personal level. The court determined this not to be public record because it did not deal with public business, even though they were using government computers. Board members can turn their notes into the Clerk's Office who must maintain them. There are civil and criminal penalties associated with this law as well. (3) The Code of Ethics is in Chapter 112 of the Florida Statutes and pertains to all public officers. Advisory Board members are considered public officers. That includes any person who is elected or appointed to hold office to any agency, including any person serving on an advisory body. Attorney Pawelczyk included in his handout some of the statutes dealing with voting conflicts. He explained that each Board member is required to vote on every single matter that comes before the Board, whether the member likes it or not. The only time a Board member cannot vote is if there is a voting conflict. A voting conflict is when a member may stand to gain or lose financially through the agenda item before the Board. This also would include a spouse, a close relative, such as a child, and grandchildren through grandparents. If a Board member has a question on whether something may be a conflict, they should consult the City Attorney. If it is determined that a Board member has a voting conflict, that Board member must file a Memorandum of Voting Conflict (Form 8B) after abstaining from voting. These forms are available in the City Clerk's Office. Other issues within the Code of Ethics include the solicitation and acceptance of gifts. Generally, the gift rule is $25. However, the appearance of impropriety should always be kept in mind, even if the Law would allow it. Attorney Pawelczyk pointed out that if a person had doubts about a gift issue, it should be disclosed. Doing business with a Meeting Minutes Advisory Board on Children & Youth Boynton Beach, Florida .lanuary 22, 2004 particular agency and serving on a Board could also be a conflict and if a member thinks there is a conflict, they should contact the City Attorney's Office or their own attorney. Ms. Sherri Claude inquired whether a communication had to be about issues that were going to be coming before the Board for a vote. Attorney Pawelczyk stated that it meant any matter that was coming before the Board in any form, voting or not. He stated that when it becomes foreseeable that a matter could come before the Board, private conversations about it should cease. Chairman Waldman thanked Attorney Pawelczyk for a fine presentation. VI. Public Audience Chair Waldman introduced Albert Hernandez, a potential Student Board member who was sitting in to familiarize himself with the Board's procedures. Ms. Tiffany Marshall was also visiting and was welcomed and invited to join the Board. VII. Old Business A. Adopt-a-Spot Program: January 24, May 1, August 7, and November 6 Ms. Sherri Claude reported that the first date was Saturday and that so far, one student had called to express interest. Chair Waldman, Ms. Stern and Mr. Miller also plan to attend. Ms. Sherri Claude noticed that there was not a lot of trash at Rolling Green and suggested that in the future, the Board consider doing two locations simultaneously or have an alternate location. The Parks Department staff suggested that the shoreline at Intracoastal Park, where trash washes up on the shoreline constantly, was always in need of attention. The event begins at 9:00 a.m. and Chair Waldman offered to come at 8:30 to help set up the tent. Chair Waldman stated that since they planted the garden, they might need to weed it. Ms. Julie Claude stated that the garden the Board had installed was not doing well and was very dry. Ms. Stern suggested consulting a landscaper or nursery for assistance for future beautification projects. She thought that someone in a horticultural program at one of the high schools might be interested in participating. Vice Chair Morera noted that planning a beautification project takes more planning than Adopt-a-Spot and suggested that a Beautification project be put on the agenda for the following meeting. B. Teen Center Ms. Stern commented that Delray Beach was building a second teen center while Boynton Beach still did not have one. Chair Waldman suggested that the Board dedicate an entire meeting to this issue in the upcoming months. C. Guest Speakers - No discussion. 4 Meeting Minutes Advisory Board on Children & Youth Boynton Beach, Florida .]anuary 22, 2004 D. Youth Volunteer Bank Ms. Sherri Claude stated that the banquet was scheduled for May 22 at the Civic Center. She was sending sponsor letters to previous sponsors and offered to send the members a generic potential sponsor letter for their use when they seek donations. Chair Waldman asked for a past sponsor list and it will be provided to the Board members. The Board expressed satisfaction with the D-J at last year's event and asked Ms. Claude to take care of arranging it. E. Bob Borovy Award The budget currently has $3,600 set aside for this event. Each year the Board tries to raise funds to replace the $1,000 used for the cash award. Chair Waldman asked the Board members to consider names of potential donors for a solicitation letter. Vice Chair Morera asked Ms. Sherri Claude if there were a generic solicitation letter and Ms. Claude responded that she would be glad to create one. The American Legioin and the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary were mentioned as potential donors. Ms. Geathers was interested in fundraising at the Heritagefest event and Chair Waldman thought this was a fine idea, once she had gotten approval from the event organizers. Ms. Geathers will look into the matter on behalf of the Board. F. Tennis Carnival - April 10, 2004 at Hunter's Run The event will be modeled after the one held the previous year, with the kids aged 6 to 17 playing on courts for three different age groups. Tennis racquets will be provided to anyone who does not have one. Ms. Sherri Claude will update the flyer, send it to the Youth Volunteer Bank members, and handle the press release. The previous year, Vice Chair Morera and Ms. Stern were the organizers of the event and Chair Waldman thanked them sincerely on behalf of the Board for their work. Last year's event was extremely successful. G. Herita,qefest Chair Waldman stated that the Advisory Board on Children & Youth would have a float in the Parade at this event in addition to the monetary donation approved at a recent meeting. The particulars of the float were discussed at length. It will be a vehicle with streamers, balloons, a banner, pictures of previous CYAB events, and some kids with posters walking alongside the vehicle and some sitting in it. The posters will be provided by Chair Waldman and depict African Americans of the past who have made significant contributions to the American way of life. Chair Waldman asked the Board members to stay after the meeting to select the posters they wished to display in the Parade. Mr. Miller offered to bring some volunteer walkers. The next Board meeting will be two days Meeting Minutes Advisory Board on Children & Youth Boynton Beach, Florida January22, 2004 before the Parade at the Art Center and the Board members will bring materials to do some pre-decorating for the float and finalize arrangements. Motion Ms. Stern moved to spend $50 for the float activity. passed unanimously. Ms. Miller seconded the motion that Chair Waldman and Vice Chair Morera will obtain the necessary materials. VIII. New Business A. Youth Expo Chair Waldman explained this event to the audience. Ms. Sherri Claude announced that this event was scheduled for Saturday, October 30, 2004 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Boynton Beach Mall. Staff committee meetings will be held at the City on a regular basis for this event and Board representation is requested for input. The first one will be on January 26 at 3:00 p.m. in the Recreation Conference Room. Ms. Stern wanted to know if the people who had booths at this event could donate $25 to the Advisory Board on Children and Youth. Ms. Sherri Claude noted that a point was made not to have businesses participate. The event features government groups and not-for-profit organizations. Even though some businesses had been allowed to participate in the past, it was because they had previously donated to the Board. B. Other Ms. Wilson mentioned the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale. They give tours that are scheduled two weeks in advance and the contact person is Ms. Lisa Walker at 954-625-2822. Chair Waldman said they had oral histories, pictures, and video programs that are very educational and inspirational for all youth, particularly for the African-American youth. Chair Waldman hoped to bring information from the Center to the youth for Heritagefest. He will speak to Mr. Eddie Mitchell about this and see if the governing board of Heritagefest could take a van with kids from Boynton Beach. He also thought it would be nice for the Board to visit this Center. Vice Chair Morera suggested obtaining a speaker to come to talk to the CYAB. IX. Future Meeting Dates: February 26, 2004 (Art Center) March 25, 2004 X. Adjournment 6 Meeting Minutes Advisory Board on Children & Youth Boynton Beach, Florida .lanuary 22, 2004 Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:15 pm. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (012604) 7