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Minutes 03-10-04MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2004 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Ron Washam, Chairperson Jayne Kupperman Blanche Girtman Brian Miller Eddie Mitchell Jose Rodriguez (arrived 7:03 p.m.) Brenda Lee Williams Dan DeCarlo, Board Liaison Absent Anna Marie Noe, Vice Chair Howard Solomon Sarah Dye, Alternate Robed Harper, Alternate Pledge of Allegiance Chair Washam called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Hr. Hiller led the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, TT. Roll Call of Regular Members and Alternates The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors None IV. February 11, 2004 Minutes Approval Motion Hr. Hiller moved to approve, seconded by Hs. Kupperman and unanimously carried. Hr. Hiller expressed appreciation for the timely delivery of the minutes. He felt that this gave everyone plenty of time to digest them. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 10, 2004 V. Agenda Approval Mr. DeCarlo added a discussion of Youth and Government Day to the agenda under New Business. Motion Ms. Girtman moved to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Ms. Williams and carried unanimously. VI. Correspondence and Announcements Read Together Palm Beach County 2004 Ms. Kupperman reported that the Literacy Coalition was sponsoring a kick-off luncheon on Friday, March 12, to review the book, Their Eyes Were Watchina God, by Zora Neale Thurston. She thought it would be a great thing for literacy if everyone read it. Governor Bush also chose the same book for Read Together Florida. Ms. Kupperman distributed lapel buttons and literature about this effort. Unity Day Ms. Girtman inquired whether anything would be done about Unity Day. She liked this because she felt there was a big need for unity at the present time. Chair Washam recalled that it had been held in the past and there used to be a dinner and a lot of other festivities. This topic will be researched and the information will be presented at the next meeting. This is the program that preceded the Black Awareness and current HeritageFest programs. VII. Old Business 1. PATCH Activities Update Mr. DeCarlo stated that they were in the process of getting a permit for the trailer and hiring an engineer to upgrade the wind load requirements. They are working with the mover on moving costs and the actual cost of getting sewer and water hookups. The City will help to get the trailer located at the Hester Center, but the PATCH Committee will be responsible for its maintenance once it is placed there. The good news is that the PATCH Board has had an influx of some very good people in the past month or two. Mr. DeCarlo is trying to do this project as a minor site plan modification to avoid going through the Planning & Development Board and the City Commission, which could take about 90 days. It will still go before the Commission ultimately, and when it does, he suggested that the Board members be present to speak in support of PATCH and the trailer. A doctor or two from Bethesda have expressed interest in working with PATCH Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 10, 2004 and when the trailer is in place, it will be easier to bring everyone together. He thought the Hester Center would be a very good location. PATCH had a booth at the HeritageFest event and it was very successful. Several nurses and Mr. Brian Edwards helped out throughout the day. There was blood pressure screening and the booth was very active. Mr. DeCarlo will give an update on this at the next meeting. He will include the date for the City Commission meeting where this will be discussed in the agenda packets to the members. 2. Community Relations Board Brochure Mr. DeCarlo stated that he had received some very good comments from people who had seen the new brochure. The brochures were distributed during the HeritageFest activities and copies will be sent to the Board members also. They are meant to help explain what the CRB does and can be given to people for this purpose as needed. Mr. Mitchell noted that there was a list of Board members in the brochure. He asked for assurance that this would be kept updated, so that former Board members would not receive calls. Mr. DeCarlo stated that a name would not remain on the brochure beyond two or three months from when they left the Board. They do not print a lot at one time. 3. Great American Cleanup on Saturday, May I - CRB Participation Mr. DeCarlo hopes that the CRB members will take an active role in this event. This is the third or fourth year that the City has participated and he wanted to get as many neighborhoods to participate as possible. He will be sending notices to all the Homeowners' Associations throughout the City, asking that they discuss this at their meetings. Last year, there were over 100 volunteers. Free t-shirts are distributed to all those who participate. The Board brainstormed ideas about this project: Send fliers to all the area schools. Send fliers to all the area churches. This should be the beginning of an ongoing program. Go door-to-door to get people to commit to come out for this on a regular basis. Motivating people to take an ownership role on the street where they live is key. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 10, 2004 Offer incentives to youth to help motivate them - theater tickets, annual award? Get a corporate sponsor to provide some incentives. The City should enforce its vacant lot mowing policy. The City should consider charging people to clean up lots in addition to mowing them. The City should make an effort to educate the citizens about what number to call when they need large items to be picked up. Mr. Miller wished to bring up something that was not on the agenda. The consensus was that the Board would finish its regular agenda items and then give him an opportunity to speak. VIII. New Business Literacy Program Mr. DeCarlo stated that the Board had discussed doing something with the Library, possibly this summer, but was focusing at the moment on the upcoming Youth in Government Day. Chair Washam thought that this was something that the Board needed to embrace and continue to work on, but agreed that Youth in Government Day was where the Board had to focus its efforts at this time. Chair Washam stated that independent of this Board, he was working with Ms. Farace in the Library on literacy and a possible book fair. He thought that the Board could tap into these efforts at a later date. 2. April 14 Meetinq The Board discussed changing the date of its April 14 meeting since there would not be any secretarial support available on that evening. The Board chose April 7 as the alternate date on which to hold their meeting. (/~fter the fact, the City Commission decided to move their regu/ar/y schedu/ed Apr// 6 meeting to Apr// 7, due to the Passover Ho#day. Mr. DeCar/o's assistant is/ooking for an a/ternate site.) 3. Youth In Government Day Chair Washam stated that Board participation on the date of this event was much desired. The students will come in from the different schools and meet in the Chambers, where they will hear some introductory remarks from Assistant City Manager Wilfred Hawkins. The Board members will be recognized and Chair Washam will give a history of the Board and the event. This part of the program will last 30 to 40 minutes beginning at 8:00 a.m. The students will then pair off with the people they will be spending the 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 10, 2004 day with like the City Manager, the Fire Chief, and so on. In the evening, a mock City Commission meeting is held. Mr. Rodriguez stated that he felt that this should be held over until the April meeting since it was not on the agenda. Time was given to Mr. Miller, who had asked earlier for an opportunity to speak. Mr. Miller stated that he was concerned about gangs in the area and specifically about Haitians and Blacks not getting along. He asked if there were an increase in gangs or whether the issue was just getting more press lately. Mr. Rodriguez stated that Mayor Taylor had addressed this at a City Commission meeting recently, in response to some newspaper articles on the subject. After meeting with both groups, Mayor Taylor did not believe that there was any dislike or challenge between the two communities mentioned. He did not have any first-hand experience about it and did not think the Board should speculate about it unless they had first- hand experience, because that was what fueled rumors in the first place. Ms. Girtman said she lived right here and had not heard a thing about this. Ms. Kupperman said that Mr. DeCarlo had added Youth and Government Day to the agenda under New Business during the agenda approval earlier in the meeting and she was looking forward to hearing more about it. She referred to earlier discussions the Board had about getting Instructional Television involved in this. If so, she needed more information so that she would have enough time to plan something. Chair Washam explained the Youth and Government Day agenda for the benefit of the newer board members. Ms. Girtman said that a long time ago, the young people seemed to be afraid of being around City government. Youth in Government Day started so that the children could get a picture of what civics was all about. Civics was a subject that used to be taught in public schools in the ninth grade. The Board members went to the schools and organized it with them and helped formulate the topic for discussion at the mock City Commission meeting. As the City grew in population, City government took over the program. Chair Washam said that the most important aspect of that event in terms of Board participation was the mock City Commission in the evening, where the students demonstrate what they have learned during the day. Last year, the event was held on two separate days since so many students wanted to participate in it. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 10, 2004 Mr. Miller stated that the students who come to Youth in Government Day should be invited to participate in The Great American Cleanup. ]:X. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (031504)