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Minutes 08-09-06 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE MADSEN CENTER, 145 S.E. 2ND AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON AUGUST 9, 2006 AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Brian Miller, Chair Eddie Mitchell, Vice Chair Alfred Levy Joyce Mura Stanley Sorgman Brenda Lee Williams Regenia Scott, Manager of Neighborhood Services Absent: Blanche Hearst-Girtman Gregg Orenstein Phyllis Stern I. Call Meeting to Order - Pledge of Allegiance Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 6:41 p.m. Vice Chair Mitchell led the members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. II. Board Approval to Authorize Phyllis Stern to Participate in the Meeting via Telephone for This Meeting Only A discussion ensued on this matter. The majority of the board members could understand why such requests were made, but did not want to set a precedent. Motion Ms. Mura moved to authorize participation at this meeting via telephone for Board Member Phyllis Stern and consider future policy at another meeting. Vice Chair Mitchell seconded the motion. At the Chair's request, the Recording Secretary conducted a roll call vote. Vote The motion failed 2-4, with Chair Miller, ~1cssrs. Levy and Sorgman, and Ms. Williams dissenting. III. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. It was acknowledged this item should have preceded the discussion of the telephone participation issue. IV. Recognition of Visitors There were no visitors. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 9,2006 V. Agenda Approval There were no additions, deletions, or corrections to the agenda. Motion Vice Chair Mitchell moved to accept the agenda as proposed. Mr. Levy seconded the motion that passed unanimously. VI. Approval of Minutes - June 14, 2006 There were no additions, deletions, or corrections to the minutes. Motion Mr. Levy moved to approve the minutes as presented. Ms. Mura seconded the motion that passed unanimously. VII. Announcements Ms. Williams announced she had a new granddaughter and the members offered their congratulations. Ms. Scott thanked Mr. Levy and ~1s. ~1ur;) Vice Chair Mitchell for serving on the panel convened to review requests to participate in the City's Emergency Generator and/or Ice Machine program. Thirteen applicants were processed and approved with awards totaling approximately $54K. Mr. Levy felt their participation had helped to facilitate matters since they were able to advise one applicant that the generator being requested was too small for the proposed use. Mr. Levy thought this program exemplified one of the main reasons for which this board existed - involvement with the community. Mr. Levy and ~1s. ~1ur;) Vice Chair Mitchell both expressed gratitude for being included on the review panel. Chair ~1itchcll Miller asked if Mr. Levy and ~1s. ~1ur;) Vice Chair Mitchell would be willing to serve on this panel the following year, and they assented. VIII. New Business A. Planning Workshop Ms. Regenia Scott, Manager of the Neighborhood Services Department, facilitated this discussion, assisted by Ms. Thelma Lyons, also of the Neighborhood Services Department. The board members were provided a notebook containing the existing board ordinance, along with a document containing the governing rules and procedures. Prior to this meeting, the members contributed their thoughts and suggestions via a planning questionnaire, the results of which were summarized and included in this notebook. Ms. Scott covered the ground rules of the planning session. This was followed by a summary of the pre-meeting questionnaire, a review of the CRB ordinance with an emphasis on duties and 2 ---- Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 9,2006 mission, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, action plan, and a discussion of how to achieve their goals. Summary of Pre-Meetina Ouestionnaire Comments The three discussion topics deemed most important by the board were: 1) The board's role and responsibilities (mission and goals), 2) communicating with citizens, 2) addressing the changing needs of the citizens. More than half of the board did not feel they were achieving these ends at present. Ms. Scott expressed certainty this would be changed in the coming year. The board had to 1) define its mission, 2) decide how best to carry that mission out, and 3) create an action plan in support of that mission. Ms. Scott spoke of the varied experience and talents of the board members and how they could use them to further the health, safety, and harmony of the community. For example, several board members had experience with chairing major projects and/or fundraising, both of which were invaluable to the board's mission. Equally valuable were the individual contacts in the community of each board member. The CRB enabling ordinance contained a section outlining eleven board duties. These duties were discussed at length. The board considered a possible modification to the language for item #4, "The board shall act as a forum for hearing disputes and/or grievances, and the board shall have authority to conduct independent research into any complaints received by the board. " Some wanted to substitute the word forum with the word liaison, but it was agreed this could be mentioned in conversation with people as a means of further describing the board's purpose. The board also considered whether to recommend modifying the ordinance language that seemed to focus on complaints and grievances rather than all communications. It was felt this language had a negative slant and could be more positively worded. Chair ~1itchcll Miller reviewed the early history of the CRB and noted how it was first established to help create harmony in a time of racial unrest, but later branched out into other community concerns. Vice Chair Mitchell recalled this also, saying that even though the focus had changed, the CRB could still be involved in such matters if they arose. Item #9: "The board shall be empowered to review all requests for funds from all social service agencies, schools and/or community organizations and make recommendations to the City Commission regarding such requests. The Community Relations Board shall have no power to appropriate funds. " Ms. Scott stated that to her knowledge, this item had never come into play and if desired, the board could recommend it be deleted from the ordinance. Although discussion followed, no recommendation to delete this was made. Ms. Williams felt the board could review special requests for funds, but not all. It came as news to some that while the board did not have a budget, it could actively seek sponsorships for events and other purposes that would benefit the community. Also, it was agreed there were many activities the board could sponsor and 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 9, 2006 promote for the community that would cost very little, particularly if the board members utilized their contacts in the community to obtain sponsorships. The board discussed their duties and purpose and ultimately ratified the Example Mission Statement in the notebook, believing it was an accurate representation of their beliefs. The Mission Statement is: The Community Relations Board serves as a forum to hear citizen concerns on safety, health, welfare and housing issues, identifies solutions that address community problems, and sponsors activities that promote harmony and communication throughout the City of Boynton Beach. SWOT Analvsis Board strengths were seen to be: 1) diversity in backgrounds, 2) knowledge of the community, 3) contacts with various service groups, 4) involvement with other city groups, experience in fundraising, experience managing projects by committee. Board weaknesses were seen to be: 1) lack of youth involvement or participation on board, 2) no identity with community, 3) lack of identity with City Commission, 4) lack of longevity with members,S) no budget, 6) communication. Board opportunities were seen to be: 1) create a cohesive community, 2) redevelopment in city, 3) recognize different community issues, 4) growth in different cultures and ethnic groups,S) better communication throughout city, and 5) leadership. Board threats were seen to be: 1) lack of knowledge of citywide events, 2) lack of communication among group and community, 3) lack of identity with community. All agreed emphatically that a major priority in the current board year would be to advertise and promote the CRB to make its existence known to the community and the City Commission. Doing this would place them in a position to be of greater service to the Commission and the community at large. Ms. Scott declared they might wish to sponsor two or more forums each year on such issues as 1) health, 2) seniors, 3) housing, or whatever concerns the community expressed. They could also host a neighborhood summit meeting, for example. Although they could partner with other organizations such as the Education & Youth Advisory Board, they had to be careful not to usurp the areas normally covered by those other boards. In other words, they would not want to be the sole host for an education forum. Another area of participation would be to create activities that would benefit the diverse sub- cultures existing in the community, the Haitians, the Spanish, and so forth. Chair Mitchell Miller recalled the CRB used to have a float in the City's holiday parade. Others recalled it had been a car driven in the parade that had CRB advertising on it. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 9,2006 Ms. Mura gave an example of something the CRB could do, if the Fire Department were behind it, which they were currently not. At the South Florida Fair, the Agency on Aging distributed placards to be hung on the doors of residences during or after a hurricane. One color said, "I'm O.K.", and the other "I need help." Through her part-time work at E. Dorsey Smith Funeral Home in Lake Worth, Ms. Mura discovered they had paid for printing the placards and offered them to the public in their waiting room. Ms. Mura brought the placards to show Deputy Fire Chief Ness, but the Fire Department felt the placards would blow off. If the board chose to participate in something like this, any connection a board member might have with a printer could be a pOSSible source of sponsorship. Ms. Scott added that if the board desired to send a brochure on the CRB to every residence in Boynton Beach, they could go to a printer and see if they would pay for it. 2006-2007 Action Plan for the CRB Through discussion, the board identified a goal for 2006-07 as follows: GOAL: TO ESTABLISH AN IDENTITY IN COMMUNITY (by): 1) Attending neighborhood association meetings. 2) Hosting community meetings on various issues. 3) Attending City Commission meetings. Strategy 1: Attend Neighborhood Association Meetings 1) CRB members will make presentations at neighborhood meetings to communicate CRB mission. 2) Neighborhood Services may be accompanied by CRB board members to neighborhood association meetings, if the neighborhood association approves the addition to their agenda. Strategy 2: Host community meetings on various issues. 1. CRB will host first event in partnership with CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team) on Emergency Preparedness. 2. Committee established that consists of Joyce Mura, Brian Miller, Stanley Sorgman, and Alfred Levy to plan the event. 3. Ms. Mura will meet with Jim Ness to discuss concept and possible dates. 4. A location will need to be determined. 5. Subcommittees will be formed to facilitate planning as necessary. Ms. Scott advised the board would go to the City Commission and announce they planned to do a community forum and ask for the Commission's support. The board agreed this topic would be very timely and of interest to the entire community. Ms. Scott suggested the creation of a flyer for distribution in the community announcing the forum and inviting participation by all residents. The board wanted to have the forum as soon as possible, and Ms. Scott suggested allowing plenty of time to plan, targeting October for the event. Since this was the CRB's first sponsored activity in some time, it was even more important to plan it thoroughly to make it as 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 9, 2006 successful as possible. There was some talk of co-sponsoring the activity, but Ms. Scott advised the CRB would be the sponsor. Deputy Chief Ness would be an invited participant. Motion Ms. Mura moved that she would contact participate in a CERT community forum. unanimously. Deputy Chief Jim Ness to find out if he could Mr. Sorgman seconded the motion that passed Strategy 3: Attend City Commission meetings 1. CRB members will alternate attending City Commission meetings. 2. Each member will ensure the CRB is recognized by the Commission as being in attendance. 3. CRB members will report back to group on activities and events relative to CRB as a result of this attendance. 4. CRB member will inform the City Commission of any upcoming events it will be hosting and provide updates on committee progress or recommendations for actions relative to forums or citizen concerns. Ms. Scott emphasized the importance of the board members making their names and faces known to the City Commission. She suggested that each member of the board plan to attend and introduce himself or herself during the Public Audience portion of the meeting. In addition to a name, the board member could give a short statement about the purpose of the Community Relations Board and an expression of interest in working with the community on matters of concern. Sooner or later, the Commission and the public would begin to recognize the CRB was an active participant in the affairs of the City. Often, issues of interest to the CRB became evident at these meetings and the CRB might find topics on which they could have a forum. Ms. Scott planned a meeting with the leaders of neighborhood associations towards the end of each month and she would send a notice of invitation to the CRB members, who could attend and be introduced, pending approval of the agenda by the neighborhood association. The members could also contact the neighborhood/homeowner associations and try to get on their agendas to give a brief introduction declaring the CRB's existence and mission. At a minimum, the board members could contact the associations and let them know of the CRB's availability to attend their meetings. Mr. Sorgman was in favor of newspaper advertising as another means to let the community know of the CRB's existence. An ad could be run with the board's scheduled date, time, and place of monthly meetings with an open invitation to the public, including the board's mission statement. Advertising in the Chamber of Commerce's newsletter and the back of the City's water bill were other possibilities that were mentioned. 6 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 9, 2006 IX. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~:t/dt{ ~/d;J' Susan Collins Recording Secretary (081006 ) 7