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Minutes 04-10-06 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Brian Miller, Chair Alfred Levy Joyce Mura Phyllis Stern Stanley Sorgman Brenda Lee Williams Thelma Lyons, Neighborhood Specialist Liaison Absent Blanche Hearst-Girtman, Vice Chair Eddie Mitchell Gregg Orenstein I. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Ms. Stern led the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors There were no visitors. IV. Minutes Approval - March 8, 2006 Motion Mr. Levy moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Ms. Stern and unanimously passed. V. Agenda Approval Three items were added to the agenda: 1) Youth in Government Day Update 2) Tennis Tournament Report 3) Comments on Police Academy Motion Ms. Mura moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Levy seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 10, 2006 VI. Correspondence & Announcements None VII. Old Business A) Pride in Boynton Beach · CERT Program Update - Joyce Mura Ms. Mura reported that Deputy Chief Ness was at a hurricane-preparedness conference in Orlando. He is trying to arrange a joint CERT meeting between Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Boynton Beach. Boca Raton and Delray Beach each have very active CERT Programs. Delray Beach has an organization that oversees all CERT volunteers and Deputy Chief Ness was hopeful that a similar organization could be set up in Boynton Beach. Ms. Stern commented Hunter's Run was also very active in the CERT Program and had offered to host the joint meeting. Contact could be made with Mr. Sandy Meyer, a CERT Volunteer living in Hunter's Run, or Ms. Stern. The Hunter's Run meeting place would accommodate approximately 100 participants. Ms. Mura will relay the offer to Deputy Chief Ness and inform the Board members of the ultimate place and time for the meeting, tentatively scheduled for the last week in April. Mr. Sorgman knew of some people who were interested in participating in the CERT program and asked if they could come to the meeting as a public audience. Ms. Mura will ask Deputy Chief Ness if this would be acceptable and let Mr. Sorgman know his response. This led to a discussion of the Sunshine Law and whether it would be acceptable for Ms. Mura, the CERT Subcommittee member, to contact Mr. Sorgman about this. After discussion, it was determined Ms. Mura would contact the City Attorney's office to get a definitive answer to her specific question and, in general, the question of conversations between Board members. There was discussion about whether and when Board members could contact each other by E-mail or telephone. Some thought this would be acceptable if the content of the discussion was not on a substantive matter on a current or future Board agenda and only related to places and times of meetings and such administrative information. · Board Members Volunteer for Earth Dav/Great American Clean Up Saturday, April 22, is Earth Day and the Great American Clean Up. Chair Miller encouraged the Board members to work through the Board Liaison to determine the areas in their communities that need assistance and come out to volunteer on April 22. · Youth in Government Dav Ms. Lyons reported 23 students were signed up to participate in this event scheduled to take place on April 20, 2006. They represented Boynton Beach High School, Lake Worth Christian School, and South Technical Charter High School. Ms. Lyons stated the Board members were welcome to come to the luncheon if they wished. Lunch will be served in Conference Room C in the West Wing of City Hall at 12:00 noon. The mock City Commission meeting will take place in Chambers at 6:30 p.m. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 10, 2006 · Comments on the Citizen's Police Academy - Alfred Lew and Phyllis Stern Ms. Stern and Mr. Levy had just graduated from the last Citizen's Police Academy and gave it an excellent rating. Ms. Stern and Mr. Levy were impressed with the enthusiasm, solidarity, and gracious participation of the officers. There was a great deal of enthusiasm among the academy participants as well, including Josephus McDonald, a community activist in his 90s. Mr. Levy had applications for the November cycle for anyone interested in signing up. Another benefit for the participants was the right to go for as many "ride alongs" as they wanted. Ms. Stern thoroughly enjoyed the program and commented on the many items given to the graduates such as badges, bumper stickers, t-shirts, mugs, and pens. She felt the Police Academy was a great public relations tool. Chair Miller praised Chief Immler for what he saw as a major turnaround in the Police Department under his administration. VIII. New Business A. Reports of Board Members Diversity Focus Group Reoort - Phyllis Stern Ms. Stern reported a meeting had been held two months ago on the topic of diversity, attended by people from the City of Boynton Beach, the Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of various community organizations. The gist of the discussion was to find ways to bring the diverse communities in Boynton Beach together in the most harmonious way. Ms. Stern reported a great difference in the way the Police are viewed. On this Board, the Police are seen as obliging, well meaning protectors and defenders of the citizenry. Others view the Police as engendering feelings of fear, anxiety, and stress in the citizens. One African American participant related that as an educated man, he felt guilty about saying things to his children that perpetuated this attitude towards the Police. All agreed two languages were being spoken and for diversity to succeed, it would be necessary to learn to speak one language, eliminating the language that had caused heartache, disagreements, and misunderstanding in the past. Many were concerned about the potential of losing their homes through eminent domain proceedings and felt powerless and without recourse in this area. Ms. Stern felt the meeting was very useful and a good start towards laying the cards on the table, leading to making the right choices. Ms. Lyons indicated there would be other meetings and she would keep the Board informed of the dates, places, and times. Tennis Carnival Update - Phyllis Stern Ms. Stern reported another successful tennis event at Hunter's Run that was attended by 35 children, who had a wonderful time. They learned tennis and anyone who came without a tennis racquet went home with one. She showed pictures of the group to the Board. They also obtained donations to be used for the Bob Borovy Scholarship Awards given by the Advisory Board on Children & Youth. Ms. Stern was pleased to see an increase in diversity among the participants this year. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 10, 2006 Boynton Beach High School Report - Brenda Williams Ms. Williams reported that the Boynton Beach High School Principal, Ms. Kathleen Perry, was unable to attend tonight's meeting but will try to come to the May meeting. Ms. Perry shared some of her concerns as follows. · Volunteer Coordinator Boynton Beach High School needs a Volunteer Coordinator to coordinate volunteer schedules and keep track of volunteer hours. The Volunteer Coordinator matches volunteers with teachers who need help with tutors and other such assistance. · Trolley Stop at Entrance to Boynton Beach High School Many students have parents who have to be at work very early in the morning. When the students miss the bus, they have to walk to school, and arrive very late. If the trolley ran early in the morning and made one stop at the entrance to Boynton Beach High School, it would be a big help. Gateway Boulevard was on a regular route, but not this particular stop. · Disc Jockey and Music at Intracoastal Park The School wants to reward student achievement with a session at Intracoastal Park during school hours involving music, speakers, and a disc jockey. The City denied their request and the assistance of the Community Relations Board was requested. Ms. Williams thought the denial might have been a result of having loudspeakers. Chair Miller asked Ms. Williams to request that Ms. Perry put her detailed concerns in writing and mail them to the Community Relations Board via the liaison, Thelma Lyons. Hopefully, the Board could provide some assistance. Mr. Levy asked that the information be circulated to all Board members in sufficient time to review before the next meeting. Chair Miller believed rewarding students was positive and something everyone would want to encourage. IX. Adjournment Motion Mr. Levy moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:55 p.m., seconded by Ms. Williams and passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, ~~ Susan Collins Recording Secretary (041106) 4