Loading...
Minutes 12-06-00MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN CONFERENCE ROOM C, WEST WING, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2000 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Ron Washam, Chairman Dan DeCarlo, Neighborhood Specialist Anne Centi Joy Currier Blanche Girtman Hansome Jones, Alternate David Katz, Alternate Eddie Mitchell Absent Beth Miller, Vice Chairperson David A. Carter Brett Sherman Brenda Lee Williams I. OPENING, Pledge of Allegiance Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. and asked Mr. Jones to lead the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by a moment of silent prayer. I1. ROLL CALL - Regular Members and Alternates The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. II1. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS There were no visitors at this meeting. IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms. Currier wished to add an item about the Thanksgiving dinner at Head Start under Old Business. Motion Mr. Katz made a motion to approve the agenda, as amended. Ms. Centi seconded the motion that carried unanimously. V. MINUTES APPROVAL, NOVEMBER 1, 2000 BOARD MEETING There were no changes, additions or deletions to the minutes. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 6, 2000 Motion Mr. Katz made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 1, 2000 board meeting as written. Ms. Centi seconded the motion that carried 6-1 (Ms. Currier dissenting). VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Currier said that on December 21 they were having a Christmas party for 120 children at Head Start and she believed the Police Chief would be attending this year. VII. OLD BUSINESS A. PATCH ESTABLISHMENT The first meeting of the PATCH Steering Committee is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, December 20, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in Conference Room C in City Hall. A list of the Steering Committee members was distributed to the members before the meeting Chairman Washam asked for Community Relations Board participation on the Steering Committee, specifically Ms. Beth Miller, Vice Chair, who had been instrumental in initiating the program originally, and Ms. Brenda Williams. He said it was up to the individual Board members, but the current opinion was that one or two Board members could sit on the Committee and that if anyone wished to do so, that now was the time to announce it. He said it would be helpful to the Steering Committee to have Board participation to take advantage of the Board's experience in the matter. Mr. Mitchell thought the Committee and the Board were separate entities. Chairman Washam said that they were separate entities but that now that the planning stage was past and the project had been accepted by the City Commission and given to the Community Relations Board to oversee, he felt more latitude to add members to the Committee. Mr. Katz stated that Mr. Mitchell was pointing out that in the beginning, the impression given was that the two entities would not co-mingle. However, he also said it seemed that there were not too many people on the Steering Committee and he did not believe that adding more people, or people from the Board, was a problem. He said that he had initially been opposed to the PATCH, on the basis that it was a duplication of effort, but that he had accepted it. Mr. Katz asked about the backgrounds of several of the PATCH committee members that he did not personally know. He asked about Mr. Andrasek who had a Boca Raton address. Mr. DeCarlo explained that he had questioned that also but that Mr. Andrasek had become familiar with Boynton Beach while he was doing the census here recently and that he had befriended several people in the City and wanted to work on this committee. Mr. Mitchell also questioned having people on the Committee who did not live in Boynton Beach. Chairman Washam said the Board had decided earlier on that participation in the Committee would be by sincerity of interest and not by the geographical location of the participants. He said that the other PATCH organizations in south Florida also depended on participation from outside of the home base of the organizatiOn. Mr. Katz then asked about Mr. Blum of Delray Beach. Mr. DeCarlo said that the Delray Beach address was his mailing address 2 Meeting Minutes _i Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 6, 2000 only and that he owns the Banana Boat in Boynton Beach. Chairman Washam said he represented the business sector on the Committee. Mr. Katz asked about Pat Norgiel but Mr. DeCarlo stated he did not know this person and that this name had been a recommendation by someone who was not present at this meeting. Chairman Washam stated that the Board had approved all the names after discussion over the past several months. Mr. Katz said he was inquiring because he was not familiar with all of the people on the Committee. Mr. Katz also said that there was supposed to be representation on the Steering Committee from the medical community, the education community, the police/fire departments, and the hospital and that for the success of the project, the appropriate people had to be in place. Mr. DeCarlo said that was an excellent point and that he shared this view. He said that now that the blessing had been received from the Commission to proceed, he hoped the Community Relations Board would be able to fill the Committee with the appropriate representatives from the community. Chairman Washam remarked that the current Steering Committee was made up of people who were really dedicated to the project and wanted it to succeed. He said the many delays and changes of direction in the project over the previous five months had not deterred this small, committed group of people from wanting to be a part of the project, and that he was thrilled and thankful that they had persevered. He hoped that the new Committee members would bring a geographic and occupational mix to the Committee. Ms. Currier said she wanted to take over on the Steering Committee for Elizabeth Jenkins until her return in January. Ms. Girtman stated that she would like to serve on the Steering Committee and then asked Chairman Washam if he had decided that Beth Miller and Brenda Williams would be the two people who would serve on the Steering Committee from the Community Relations Board? Chairman Washam said it was up to them to volunteer if they wished to do so. Chairman Washam said he knew there were several people on the Board who would serve well on the Committee, including Ms. Girtman, but that he was also aware of how busy she and some others were and that the Steering Committee would take a large commitment of time and effort. Chairman Washam said that once a month a representative of the Steering Committee would report to the Board. Ms. Girtman said she thought it would be helpful for the person reporting back to the Community Relations Board to be a member of the Community Relations Board and Chairman Washam agreed. Ms. Currier asked Mr. DeCarlo if he was on the Committee and he replied that he was. B. COMMUNITY GARDEN UPDATE Mr. DeCarlo reported that the sod had just been put down and that a fence was going to be put up around the garden and then painted. He thought the fence would really dress up the corner very nicely. He also said that a lot of folks had gotten involved in the project and that a couple of schools had called and wanted to do similar projects. Ms. Currier asked if they were going to double the number of gardens next year? Mr. DeCarlo said it depended on the location and that they were considering other sites but that they could add some more beds to the existing one also. Mr. Katz asked if the fence was being built from scratch? Mr. DeCarlo said he was buying the four-foot 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 6, 2000 wooden picket fences in eight-foot sections. He also said Palm Beach County had given the City $5,000 for its community gardening program and this was one of the sites where it was being implemented. Some of the Neighborhood Assistance Project money was being used as well. Ms. Girtman said the project had been fun, and that the kids had enjoyed it and had asked a lot of questions about growing things. C. MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD (MLK) REVITALIZATION UPDATE Mr. DeCarlo reported that the City had received confirmation that it would be receiving a $50,000 planning grant, the primary focus of which will be on updating the City's Community Redevelopment Agency's (CRA) plan, which is over 20 years old. The City also wants to involve the community residents in the planning process. Mr. Katz asked if the grant had been applied for on the basis of revitalizing MLK but using some of the money to renew the plan for the expanded CRA? Mr. DeCarlo said he needed to meet with Mr. Greene and Mr. Hawkins to pull together a number of things. He said that one of the overriding concerns of the City was that the CRA plan had taken a back seat for a long time and needed to be updated. The MLK area is within the boundaries of the CRA. Mr. Katz asked if any of the money was to be used for bricks and mortar or just to pay a consultant? Mr. DeCarlo stated that he had over $200,000 in his budget above this to do bricks and mortar. The City approved the spending of $30 million on five capital improvement projects and one of the top five was the revitalization of MLK. An overall plan needs to be put in place before implementation steps can be arrived at. Chairman Washam asked if there had been any discussion on the part of any group outside the Community Relations Board about the County property the Board had been considering for the health center? Mr. DeCarlo said he knew this was an important thing for the Board to know and he did not think any final decision had been made. That land was given to the City by the County with the understanding that it be used to fill a public need or service. Chairman Washam said the Board needed to be updated on the status of the property and that when the Board had been in the talking stages earlier, it had gotten a lot of opposition from many quarters of the community about using that property. He wanted to know if the City or anyone else had a plan for a public facility at that location? Mr. DeCarlo said that there would be public meetings between January and May of 2001, among all the stakeholders, including the churches, the businesses, and the residents. If an overriding sentiment were to arise from those public meetings that this is something the community needs and this is where the community wants to have it, it would emerge as an overwhelming need of the community that must be met. Another consideration Mr. DeCarlo mentioned was that this County property may or may not be the best site, but it should continue as an option. Ms Girtman said that when the idea of having a health center on MLK swept through her community, everyone really wanted it to be there and still feels the same. The people need to know when the public meetings will be and what is needed of them. Mr. Katz said the meetings should not be held at City Hall but in the neighborhood meeting 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 6, 2000 places. Mr. DeCarlo agreed and said they were in the process of updating their mailing list of churches in the area and he planned to have a dinner with all the churches in that area to talk about the planning strategy. He said he would explain that this was their opportunity to be involved in the planning process. Chairman Washam stated that the Community Relations Board would have an important role to play in the process. Ms. Girtman said she wanted to know about some of the other ideas being developed for MLK? Mr. DeCarlo said he knew that in this area, it was a matter of trying to get a sense of who the property owners were, who had a vested interest in wanting to be there, and who the absentee landlords were that just had vacant lots and basically did not care. Sorting through that and getting a sense of who the real stakeholders are and who would be interested in redevelopment if an opportunity should come along were matters that would sort themselves out, he said. Mr. Katz suggested that the property should be bought from the absentee landlords before the process started. Mr. DeCarlo said that most of the absentee landlordS were already aware of the situation. Ms. Girtman stated that many property owners had received letters from realtors asking if they wanted to sell their land and that this was why she wanted to know what the City was going to do with the property. D. Head Start Thanksgiving Dinner Report Ms. Currier reported that they served Thanksgiving dinners for seven and a half hours. They had enough to share and served people off the street. Channel 12 had provided 15 turkeys but advised that they had been bought out and did not know if the new owners would continue to provide the turkeys next year. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. City-sponsored Annual Board Dinner Chairman Washam stated that the Board Dinner was scheduled for January 25, 2000 at Benvenutos Restaurant. He said there would be a cocktail hour from 6 to 7 and that everyone should attend. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Recording Secretary (one tape) 5