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Minutes 11-09-06 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE MADSEN CENTER, 145 S.E. 2ND AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON NOVEMBER 9, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M. Present: Brian Miller, Chair Eddie Mitchell, Vice Chair Blanche Hearst-Girtman Alfred Levy Joyce Mura Stanley Sorgman Phyllis Stern Absent: Brenda Lee Williams Sanford Mendelsohn, Alternate I. Call to Order - Pledge of Allegiance Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Vice Chair Mitchell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. II. Roll Call Chair Miller called the roll. A quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors There were no visitors. IV. Approval of Agenda Chair Miller added an Item C under New Business, a Focus article by Board member Phyllis Stern. Motion Vice Chair Miller moved to approve the agenda as amended. Ms. Stern seconded the motion that passed unanimously. V. Approval of Minutes from October 11, 2006 Meeting (addressed later) Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 9, 2006 VI. Announcements Later in the meeting, Chair Miller addressed the announcements provided by Ms. Scott. At this point, Chair Miller announced that the Board Liaison, Regenia Scott, was not present again. When asked if there was a problem, Chair Miller noted Ms. Scott had taken a day of vacation. This seemed reasonable to Ms. Girtman and Ms. Mura, since the next day was a holiday. Ms. Girtman noted that to take a day off was Ms. Scott's privilege and she had to get approval from her superiors to do so. Vice Chair Mitchell stated he had been disgusted with the direction they had gone with this board as a result of the liaison. 1) This board was established by the City Commission and the City Commission appointed the members. The liaison was a bridge between this board and the City itself. In his opinion, instead of taken a leadership role as the Community Relations Board, they were on the coattails of the liaison. No matter what suggestions the board made, such as the CERT program and the kid's participating in government, they get a negative reaction that "it is not important." The only thing that seemed to be important was what the liaison did. All suggestions are brought to the board by the liaison and whatever the board wanted to do or liked to do was "thrown out the back door." To him, that was not what it was all about. 2) The ordinance requires the members to attend a certain number of meetings per year or be removed form the board. He did not mind going to meetings but he was not the kind of person whose life revolved around meetings. It seemed to him that this was what the liaison wanted them to do. They were not getting paid. He had other things he might want to do and it was not possible to make every meeting. For example, there was a Neighborhood Networking meeting. It was all right for the board to come if they felt like coming, but it seemed the liaison wanted to say to the board, "You be there." To him, board members can attend the City Commission meetings if they desire. He did not think a CRB member should attend every City Commission meeting. He did not see people there from other boards on the occasions he had gone to the City Commission meeting. They were adults. They were intelligent people, people with ideas (the board members). The board had some ideas of what they wanted to do and for a person to come in and just literally "cram something down your throat every time," and when you suggest something, you get a response of "Oh, that's not important. We should do this and do that." Mr. Mitchell felt the board was viewed as little children and the liaison person was the adult leading the children. He was so disgusted with it sometimes, he questioned whether he shouid quit, or maybe not submit another application when his term expired. He was not enjoying coming to the meetings because the Chair should chair the meetings and if there was any information the board needed to know, the liaison should provide it, and not just take control of the meeting. This was not something that happened with the City Commission. The City Manager did not take control of the meetings. The Mayor was in control of the meetings and if something was required from the City Manager, he contributes when asked. He felt this was the way it should be done here. The liaison should not take complete control of the meeting and a board member not be able to get a word in. He was not on the CRB to make Neighborhood Services look good. Chair Miller stated as Chair, he was frustrated. For the liaison to miss two meetings in a row and there would be no meeting in December, they should have had some liaison at this meeting. Vice Chair Mitchell interjected that the board had changed its regular meeting to this date, and this was Ms. Lyons regular meeting for the Board of Trustees at her church. They had 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 9, 2006 a very important meeting tonight and she had to be there. Chair Miller noted this was not Ms. Lyons' responsibility. She was not getting paid to come to the CRB meeting. Chair Miller brought an agenda to Ms. Lyons a week or so previously because he wanted the members to have the agenda on time. He received that agenda in the mail, but the board members did not receive it. A few days later, he received a revised agenda, which the other board members did not receive. There was some confusion on this point, but it appeared the agenda was revised twice. Ms. Mura remarked the Chair had the same agenda as the members, but the Chair's copy was marked "Revised," and the members' copies were not. Chair Miller declared no one had called him to discuss the changes to the agenda. He was somewhat taken aback by that. He took the time to prepare an agenda of what the board wanted to discuss and if there were additions, corrections, or suggestions, the liaison should have discussed it with Chair Miller. Vice Chair Mitchell stated this had been what he was talking about. The board's wishes were being ignored. When Chair Miller went up to see Ms. Scott the previous week, she declared she was not going to be at the meeting. Then, he understood why the announcements were included, but if he had not gone to her office, he would not have known that. Ms. Stern at first thought it would be great to have Ms. Scott as liaison, since she had a lot of positive energy and was interested in furthering the cause of the CRB. She felt she still was. The problem to her was that the CRB was not channeling the liaison's energies correctly. They were not children. The board had to have the maturity to get to a point where it could use the liaison's assets, which were plentiful, intelligently. The way it was going, she had a feeling the liaison had "written the CRB off" and that the CRB was, basically, the titular head of something the liaison was responsible for, but the board was not a factor in the liaison's passions. Mr. Sorgman thought the fact the liaison was not communicating with the chairman was inexcusable. If the Chair had not gone to her office, he would not have known she was not going to be present at the meeting. She should have conferred with him, as the Chair of this board. There was general agreement on this point. He had no doubt the liaison was qualified to do the job, but there was a lack of communication somewhere and it had to be discussed with the liaison so she would become aware of the board's sentiments. He was sure it could be worked out, but if there were no communication, the situation would only get worse. He could understand why Chair Miller and Vice Chair Mitchell were frustrated. Ms. Stern asked if Ms. Scott had followed through on her intention to showcase the Community Relations Board and its functions at the City Hall in the Mall. Chair Miller replied he had observed a poster there. No one knew whether brochures had been put on display. Mr. Levy mentioned when Ms. Scott ran a seminar for the CRB, the issue came up about the tennis tournament. They were discussing whether the board would endorse it. The liaison was dead against it, saying that was not what the board was supposed to do. The board insisted and voted unanimously to vote in favor of having the tennis tournament. He believed that issue had "set the liaison off," since she felt it was the wrong direction for the board to pursue. The liaison probably had a direction for the board, right or wrong, and the board went against that when they voted to endorse the tennis tournament. Mr. Levy noted he agreed with Vice Chair Mitchell 100%. As it stood now, the next time the board would see the liaison was in January. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 9, 2006 The last meeting she attended was in September. Attending board meetings was part of Ms. Scott's job as liaison. Mr. Sorgman had a lot of respect for Ms. Scott, but felt she had lost touch with the board. He felt she was disenchanted with what the CRB was doing and as a result, she was not making an effort to attend the meetings. Ms. Stern agreed with Mr. Sorgman. He felt the liaison should have told Chair Miller she was not going to be able to attend the meeting or give Chair Miller a note about what she wanted discussed. He was not aware of why she was not present, but it did not appear to be a last-minute decision. She could have rearranged her schedule or asked for a change in the meeting date so she could be present. That was not indicative of her doing her job and that was not helping the board. It did not seem to Mr. Sorgman that the board meant anything to Ms. Scott. He and Vice Chair Mitchell hoped that was not the case, but that was the feeling they were getting. Chair Miller noted when he found out Ms. Scott was not going to be present, he discussed the announcement items she provided. VII. New Business A. CRB Participation in the 2006 Holidav Parade Chair Miller discussed this item with Ms. Scott, when he found out she was not going to be present. He had a copy of the Holiday Parade brochure. The deadline to apply to participate in the Parade had to be returned to City Hall by November 10. However, City Hall was closed for Veterans Day on November 10. He felt sure it could be returned at the beginning of the following week. The board discussed whether or not it would participate in this event. The suggestion was made that the board provide two convertibles, and board volunteers to ride in them for the Parade. The vehicles could come from the personal resources/friends of the board members or a donation could be sought from local automobile agencies. There would be banners and/or signs on the convertibles and the vehicles would be decorated with holiday lights. Chair Miller related his discussion with Ms. Scott about the money for the signs, with Ms. Scott advising Mr. Miller that the board had no money of its own for signs, and Mr. Miller telling Ms. Scott the board had to have access to some money if it were to be a viable board. He believed Ms. Scott was pursuing having the signs made in the City's sign shop. The Parade was scheduled for Saturday, December 9 at 5:30 p.m. The lineup for the Parade would begin at 4:00 p.m. Chair Miller asked the board if it was in favor of participating in the Parade as outlined. Mr. Sorgman thought the cars could be donated by dealers, but others commented that may have been true up north, but the dealers in this area were less likely to be so cooperative. Chair Miller announced the Recreation & Parks Department would review all the entries in the Parade from the applications received by November 10 (or the following Monday) and would give approval to the floats that met the requirements. There would be a meeting on November 29, 2006 at the Civic Center, at which time more information would be provided on such issues as parking, the lineup area, and so forth. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 9, 2006 It was felt that one convertible would be sufficient. The board agreed a banner would be a good idea. Motion Ms. Stern moved to have the CRB participate in the 2006 Holiday Parade and move forward with the plans as discussed at this meeting. Mr. Sorgman seconded the motion that passed unanimously. A discussion took place about volunteers. Vice Chair Mitchell did not intend to ride in the float, since he wanted to see the Parade, not be in it. Mr. Sorgman would be out of town. Ms. Stern would be interested, but had to check her schedule first. Ms. Mura was not certain whether she would be in town or not. A discussion ensued about insurance for the convertible. It seemed to Vice Chair Mitchell the City would provide insurance since the float would be representing the City. Chair Miller responded the float vehicle had to be privately insured and its driver had to have a valid driver's license. Vice Chair Mitchell was hearing about private insurance, but the CRB was not a private entity and he was concerned about that. He referred to past experience where the City had required a $lM liability policy in order to participate on City property. Chair Miller declared Ms. Scott was having a sign made for each side of the vehicle, to be displayed on its doors. Ms. Stern advocated using a "funky" vehicle to provide more interest than a plain convertible. She later asked if the CRB could make a sign to the effect, "WE CARE ABOUT YOU," in addition to the signs provided by Ms. Scott. Ms. Stern suggested having a special meeting for the CRB volunteers to make a special banner. In interest of moving along, Ms. Mura suggested Chair Miller could ask some of these questions when he went to the meeting on November 29. At this point, the board returned to Agenda Item V, Approval of the October 11, 2006 minutes. Motion A motion was made to approve the October 11, 2006 minutes as presented, seconded by Ms. Stern and unanimously carried. B) Sprinq 2007 Pride in Bovnton Beach Clean UP Proiect Chair Miller had spoken to the folks from the Heart of Boynton neighborhood meeting. Their next meeting would be on Monday, November 20, and Mr. Miller planned to attend. He thought there could not be a better way to kick off the Spring 2007 Pride in Boynton Beach Clean Up Project than to work with the Heart of Boynton neighborhood group. He called Doris Jackson, who agreed and he was asking whether the board approved of this idea or not. They would set a date for this at the November 20 meeting and it would probably be in January or February of 2007. Ms. Mura inquired what Chair Miller was asking the board to do, physically speaking. In prior years since she had been on the board when the Great American Clean Up took place, the 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 9, 2006 board did not, as a board, participate. People might have participated individually, but not as the CRB board. She asked for clarification of what Chair Miller was asking the board to do. Chair Miller responded he was suggesting that a collaboration between the CRB and the Heart of Boynton neighborhood group be the first project in the Pride in Boynton Beach project. Whoever on the board wished to volunteer could volunteer. He hoped to try to reach into the community they would be working in and help recruit residents from that community. Ms. Stern had participated in this kind of clean up before, but did not think the other committee members had done so. Chair Miller declared the key to any successful project was involving the residents who live in a community. Otherwise, it was a one-time clean up and the area reverted back to its original state in a few weeks. It was a buy-in issue. Mr. Sorgman mentioned the Great American Clean Up where the City provided everything needed for the volunteers: bags, gloves, water, and shirts. Chair Miller noted two years previously, the Assistant City Manager, his wife, and daughter came to work with them. They brought water also. Mr. Sorgman stated they were assigned the areas and they rang doorbells in the area to get people to participate. There had been a lot of participation and the end result was worthwhile. Chair Miller did not see that this was something that would be done, necessarily, as a board. Participation was voluntary and everybody had different interests. Ms. Mura stated she would participate if her calendar were clear. She asked what Chair Miller wanted her to do and what was he asking the rest of the board members to do. Chair Miller said this was going to be strictly the Heart of Boynton area. They would find out what their needs were. Ms. Mura asked if that was something the board was doing or something Mr. Miller was doing. Chair Miller said that anyone who wished to attend the meeting on November 20 was welcome to do so. Ms. Stern's experience when she was on the Advisory Board on Children and Youth was that the liaison worked with the Heart of Boynton Beach and got a territory and it was that board's territory. The liaison arranged that they would have that particular block and the board members who were able to do so met at that block and were given all the supplies they needed. They did their job, took some pictures, and that was what they did as a board. The liaison got them the block. Chair Miller stated the Heart of Boynton group would designate a block that was in need of such attention. Vice Chair Mitchell remarked the project was Spring 2007 Pride in Boynton Beach Clean up project and it was not meant to be just for the Heart of Boynton neighborhood. In the past, the former liaison followed the same procedure just mentioned. This could be done in Golfview Harbor or any other neighborhood in the City. He did not think the program should be restricted to the Heart of Boynton area. He wanted it to be implemented Citywide. He did not want people to get the idea that this was something with a racial overtone to it. He wanted to see each neighborhood, including but not limited to the Heart of Boynton, do its own clean ups. Chair Miller remarked the major clean up effort in the City was the Great American Clean Up in April. Vice Chair Mitchell believed this agenda item should have been entitled, Spring 2007 Pride in Heart of Boynton Clean Up. Chair Miller noted when this was put on the agenda, he did not 6 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 9, 2006 know anything about it because it was not communicated to him. When he was in Ms. Scott's office, he happened to see something sitting on her desk. He thought it would be a perfect way to start out on the first clean up. Vice Chair Miller confirmed it was Chair Miller's intention to start out on a small scale before going Citywide. They thought this could be finalized at the next CRB meeting. Mr. Sorgman asked Chair Miller to come back to the next meeting with more information. Motion Ms. Mura moved to approve Chair Miller attending the Heart of Boynton neighborhood meeting on November 20 to pursue the idea of starting the Spring 2007 Pride in Boynton Beach Clean up Project in the Heart of Boynton Area. Ms. Hearst-Girtman seconded the motion that passed unanimously. VIII. Old Business A. Community Forum on Disaster Planninq (CERT) A Citywide forum was planned for CERT members and residents on emergency preparedness and disaster planning. It was not restricted to hurricanes. Ms. Mura was the head of the board's subcommittee on this issue and gave a report. The forum would probably be held at the Madsen Center, but there was no date yet. They were waiting for a representative from Hunters Run to return from a trip. Deputy Chief Ness was able to obtain a list of neighborhood associations, the target group for the initial sessions. The forum would probably be held in January. Ms. Mura showed the board a copy of a free subscription newspaper entitled Elder Updates, containing a great deal of information about emergency preparedness, including checklists of supplies. She was trying to obtain 100 copies of it for the forum and for the board members. There would be a meeting at 3:00 p.m. in City Hall in November. The board members were invited, but Ms. Mura said it was still at the subcommittee level and nothing concrete had been established. It was decided it was too early for full board participation. The board noted with pleasure that they would soon have a quorum of board members who had passed the CERT program qualifications. B) Tennis Carnival Ms. Stern announced there would be a Tennis Carnival on Saturday, November 11, 2006, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The play would take place on up to four courts and there would be tents, trophies, t-shirts, and refreshments. The board was invited to attend if they so desired. Ms. Stern had gone to the Board of Directors at Hunters Run to thank them for allowing the Tennis Carnival to be held at Hunters Run in the past. She asked if they would consider a program that would introduce the kids to golf. They were amenable to that, so a Golf Carnival was being planned at Hunters Run in April of 2007. They would learn pitching, putting, and driving and, hopefully, this would lead to a program at The Links. 7 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida C) Focus Item - Phvllis Stern November 9, 2006 Not addressed. At this point, Chair Miller addressed some of the announcements provided by the board liaison, VI-A and VI-C. The other items were for the board's information. VI-A In regard to the generator and/or ice machine program, a notice had been sent out to the neighborhood organizations to submit applications for funding. The cutoff date for applications was January 12, 2007. The applications and information were available in the liaison's office. VI-C The next Neighborhood Networking Event was to be held on Wednesday, December 7, at the Madsen Center. The agenda erroneously listed November 15 as the date. The agendas the board received had the November date, but the Chair had a revised agenda with the correct date. IX. Reports/Updates None X. Adjournment Motion A motion to adjourn was duly made to adjourn at 8:15 p.m., seconded by Mr. Levy and unanimously carried. Respectfully submitted, ~~:Jcz..1- ~) Susan Collins Recording Secretary (111306) 8