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Minutes 01-11-06 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M. Present: Brian Miller, Chair Blanche Hearst-Girtman, Vice Chair Alfred Levy Eddie Mitchell Joyce Mura Gregg Orenstein Phyllis Stern Brenda Lee Williams Stanley Sorgman Kurt Godfrey, Alternate Diane Pacheco, Alternate Thelma Lyons, Neighborhood Specialist, Liaison Also Present: Officer John Huntington, Boynton Beach Police Department I. Pledge of Allegiance Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Ms. Pacheco led the Pledge of Allegiance. II. Roll Call - Regular Members and Alternates The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors Chair Miller recognized Mr. Dan DeCarlo, former liaison to the Community Relations Board (CRB). Mr. DeCarlo greeted the members and wished them a Happy New Year. He brought the members up to date on his activities over the last six years. Mr. DeCarlo and his daughter will be leaving for China in two weeks. He expressed his continuing interest in the Board and its activities. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 11, 2006 · Boynton Beach High School Principal, Kathleen Perry Presentation by Mrs. Perry Chair Miller noted Mrs. Perry was not in attendance to make the presentation. Ms. Williams indicated she had been unsuccessful in her attempts, this month, to personally invite Ms. Williams to the meeting and had to leave the invitation on voicemail. She had invited her to the last meeting, but had to cancel that invitation due to the Board not holding a meeting in December. IV. November 9th Minutes Approval Motion A motion was made by Ms. Stern to approve the minutes of the November 9, 2005 meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Hearst-Girtman and unanimously carried. V. Agenda Approval Motion A motion was made by Mr. Levy to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Ms. Williams and unanimously carried. Motion A motion was made by Ms. Stern to pull the item by Mrs. Kathleen Perry from the agenda. The motion was seconded by Ms. Williams. Ms. Hearst-Girtman asked for the significance of removing the item from the agenda. It was explained if the item were not removed, the agenda would reflect that she was present. There was brief discussion about the record and the minutes reflecting Mrs. Perry was not in attendance. Ms. Hearst-Girtman had no objections to the motion. There were no other comments received on this item. VI. Correspondence and Announcements Chair Miller announced Officer John Huntington was present to take pictures of the Community Relations Board members for the purposes of identification badges. It was duly noted that each member, separately and during the meeting, left and returned to the dais to have their photographs taken. There was no correspondence to report. Ms. Williams announced the Martin Luther King Banquet is Sunday at the Holiday Inn, Catalina at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for the banquet are $35. The Martin Luther King March is on Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. from Railroad Avenue to St. John's Church where breakfast will be served for $5 per person. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 11, 2006 VII. Old Business a) Pride in Boynton Beach · Projects suggested by Ms. Phyllis Stern and Mr. Alfred Levy, Board to choose a topic of interest and a Board with which they would interact. Mr. Levy indicated once the ID badges are distributed, a schedule should be laid out for the members to visit the other City Boards and bring back reports on the different activities taking place within the community. Chair Miller and Mr. Levy will be attending the City Commission meeting. Ms. Stern volunteered to attend the Advisory Board on Children and Youth. Ms. Mura volunteered to work with Chief Ness, but requested clarification of exactly what the Board was trying to accomplish. Chair Miller responded the purpose is to bring information from the other Boards back to the Community Relations Board. The information would help position them in terms of what type of assistance they can offer the community and help form liaisons. There was discussion on the Police Academy and the CERTS Programs, which were both highly praised. Mr. Sorgman spoke about working with the library, schools, and volunteering for the senior citizen program. He explained those activities create goodwill. He also emphasized there is a need for volunteers. The members further discussed the Community Relations Board is not just about participating in other programs, but about creating something themselves. Ms. Stern shared that is what she believed should be the goal of the Board and elaborated there is very little public participation at the meetings. The need to create public awareness and generate public relations announcements through local publication was considered. Mr. DeCarlo indicated public awareness had always been a concern of the Board. He recounted in the past, there had been a few individuals who have come forward asking for assistance, but added sometimes no news is good news. He also mentioned there is now a complaint system in the City Manager's Office. He summarized the program and pointed out it was designed as a city hall function. On the broader scale, the Board can take a leadership role and address the community functions. He remarked historically, the Board has acted on a particular issue a Board member was aware of a wanted addressed. Last year the members were involved in the Literacy program. How community relations and the function of the Board are publicized is important. Mr. Orenstein commented going out into the community and bringing individual issues back for the Board to find focus is great, but expressed the members may want to focus on one big project such as the Boynton Beach High School. Ms. Hearst-Girtman agreed with focusing on the Boynton Beach High School project. She suggested 3 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 11, 2006 instead of waiting for the school to come to the Board, that the Board go to them. Chair Miller will meet with Mrs. Perry to ensure they will have a report at the next meeting. It was also noted if Mrs. Perry cannot come to the next meeting, he would inform the members so they can invite another speaker. Chair Miller expounded in the past, the Board worked with the library and the Boynton Clean-Up. He indicated that is a project that can be expanded. Mr. DeCarlo recommended using the after school School Advisory Council (SAC's) program because the schools are always looking for good programming for the children, which could lead to integrating into the middle school and then the high school. The SAC's program isn't always looking for recreational activities. Having a poster contest for children in the elementary school tied to environment, ecology or other topics would be something the schools might be interested in. There was discussion about the Advisory Board on Children and Youth holding art shows, poetry, photography and many other activities and their ability to offer prizes to the winners. Ms. Stern inquired if the Community Relations Board has any funds to use. Mr. DeCarlo indicated the Commissioners have funds. VIII. New Business Chair Miller announced the members should wear their identification badges to the meeting or Community Relations Board activities. He also asked for a volunteer to accompany him when he meets with Mrs. Perry. Ms. Hearst-Girtman agreed, provided the meeting is in the morning. There was no other new business. IX. Adjournment A motion was made by Mr. Godfrey to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Levy and unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, I' 'W rf"V11/'.1 \.LL~,J ,;1 _ Li( rman 4