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Minutes 01-10-07 MEETING MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD REGULAR BOARD MEETING HELD IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2007 AT 7:00 PM PRESENT: Brian Miller, Chair Eddie Mitchell, Vice Chair Belky Cruz Blanche Hearst-Girtman Joyce Mura Stanley Sorgman Phyllis Stern Brenda Lee Williams Sanford Mendelsohn, Alternate Regenia Scott, Neighborhood Services Manager 1. 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, followed by a moment of silence for the passing of Vice Mayor Robert Ensler. Ms. Stern moved to send a card to the Ensler Family. There were no objections to her suggestion. Chair Miller introduced new member, Belky Cruz and read a short biography detailing her background. Chair Miller and the board welcomed Ms. Cruz. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors Chair Miller recognized and thanked Ms. Gertrude Sullivan. Ms. Sullivan was attending the meeting to make a presentation on the Pride in Boynton event. IV. Approval of Agenda Chair Miller distributed an article on youth violence for discussion later in the agenda. Ms. Stern wanted to discuss Boynton Beach Television (BBTV) and an employee of Hunters Run. She also announced she like to see a resident guide to services for Boynton Beach. Ms. Hearst-Girtman would be adding an announcement to item VI. Announcements. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 V. Approval of Minutes from November 9, 2006 Motion Vice Chair Mitchell moved to approve the November 9, 2006 meeting minutes. Ms. Mura seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Ms. Hearst-Girtman announced she did not receive the November meeting minutes. Chair Miller advised a copy would be sent to her. VI. Announcements Ms. Hearst-Girtman announced the Martin Luther King Banquet would be held on Sunday evening, January 14, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at Benvenuto Restaurant. The parade would be held on Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. starting at the East Coast Railway and Martin Luther King Boulevard, and would culminate with a breakfast at St. John Missionary Baptist Church. Tickets for the banquet were $50, and could be obtained by calling Mrs. Butler. The keynote speaker would be Pastor and Reverend Anton Elwood of St. Paul AME Church. She extended an invitation to all to join in the celebration. Chair Miller read a resignation letter from Alfred Levy into the record. There was consensus a card in appreciation for his service to the board would be appropriate. Ms. Stern will make a copy of the card for the records. VIII. Old Business b. Pride in Boynton Beach (Heard out of ordef) Ms. Gertrude Sullivan announced she, Chair Miller, and Reverend Chaney reviewed different areas of the City. A cleanup for the Heart of Boynton was scheduled for January 27, 2007, and she invited all to participate. Ms. Sullivan explained the effort was just the beginning of many such events, and the cleanup would be accomplished in one day. There would be other events focusing on other areas as needed. Volunteers would meet at St. John Missionary Baptist Church at 9:00 a.m. When the volunteers returned, there would be food at the church. Ms. Sullivan urged involving the youth in the activity because they would be the next leaders. Chair Miller listed the participants as the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, (CRA), St. John Missionary Baptist Church, the Heart of Boynton Community, Poinciana Magnet and Galaxy Elementary Schools, First Baptist Church and St. Paul AME Church. Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) members would be participating as well as volunteers from Village Royale on the Green organized by Mr. Sorgman. Food would be donated by Bud's Chicken and Seafood; the CRA was providing supplies. Chair Miller reported the school principals and teachers were behind the effort. In addition to the cleanup, volunteers would also be planting flowers and vegetables at the schools. A teacher from Poinciana Magnet School wanted a garden for his students. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 When Mr. Sorgman learned of the event, about 18-20 shrubs were planted and grown in the community nursery for donation to the event. In April, during the Great American Cleanup, they hoped to also have the Great America Planting Day. He reported this was a great project to bring churches, schools and the community together. The board discussed that Boynton Beach Community High School was not contacted for this event. Chair Miller advised if all the volunteers participated, there would be more than enough people and the high school would be contacted for other projects. Vice Chair Mitchell reported, in the past, several attempts were made to contact the principal on other issues, but the principal did not respond. The board agreed at some time in the future, it would renew its efforts to make contact with the high school. VII. New Business a. Discuss working with neighborhood schools None. b. CRB role in the Great American Cleanup Chair Miller reported the Great American Cleanup takes place in April. Ms. Scott explained Neighborhood Services exclusively managed and handled the event. She indicated it appeared to be a project of the Community Relations Board. She asked exactly what their role would be. Chair Miller responded they wanted to augment and physically volunteer for the event. They would promote the program by word of mouth and would work with her office. The Community Relations Board, (CRB) wanted Neighborhood Services to continue to manage the program. The board felt as a city-wide project, they could reach out to people who might not otherwise participate in the event. Mr. Sorgman had been participating in the cleanup for the last seven years and thought it was a very worthwhile project. The project would fall under the heading of community involvement. Ms. Scott thought if the roles were not changing, the item should not be on the agenda other than it just being an announcement. She noted the event was a city-wide event, and the CRB role had not changed. Ms. Williams explained the item was the same as the next item on the agenda and the CRB was supportive of both projects, which were coordinated through Neighborhood Services office. Vice Chair Mitchell explained Neighborhood Services had the resources to put the events together. He thought working together and finding common ground was appropriate. He did not want to see a divide developed between the board and Neighborhood Services. Ms. Hearst-Girtman noted the two entities were different. The Youth in Government Day was instituted in the 70s, and high school students participated in it. The City Manager's office came in on the program and handled it after the CRB solicited the high 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 schools and middle schools in the community. She advised the Youth in Government Day stemmed from the Community Relations Board and reported she organized the first one in the City. Ms. Scott noted the Youth in Government Day was held last year and further advised the Children and Youth Advisory Board was involved with the event. Motion Ms. Stern moved to proceed with the agenda. Ms. Mura seconded the motion. c. CRB role in the Youth in Government Day This item was discussed above. VIII. Old Business a. Progress on the CERT Program Ms. Mura spoke with Chief Ness, other firefighters and a gentleman from Hunters Run about organizing the Ribbon Program, also known as the CERT Program. Although many organizations already had a program in place, some did not. Ms. Mura suggested holding an Open House, in lieu of their regular meeting. The meeting would be a joint venture with the Fire Department. The event would provide examples of what a personal plan could be for an evacuation or disaster event, and provide an overview of the CERT program. The CRB approved of having organizations and associations come together at the CRB meeting for the purpose of discovering the value of the program and perhaps participate in it further. Chief Ness had a listing of organizations that could be used as a mailing, and all they would need would be funding for a mailing. Ms. Mura would address the notices and would further contact Chief Ness about expenses. Ms. Scott explained the Assistant City Manager requested the CRB define its role with CERT, which was a separate entity from the Fire Department. She explained there was information or literature indicating the CRB was running CERT. She explained the board is not in place to run programs. Chair Miller explained Mr. Hawkins clearly knew, through communications with the board and Chief Ness, that the Fire Department was running the program. The CRB was lending a promoting and supporting hand. The CRB endorsed community involvement in any subject matter that could be of benefit to the residents of the City. He explained the board was never in a leadership role in CERT. Ms. Scott thought there were communications, or past minutes, indicating they were. Ms. Williams explained there were members of the board that were CERT members who thought it was something the community should know about. The board was to spread the word in the community about training that was going on for CERT. That was their only responsibility because it was beneficial to the community and they would take the lead on that. Chair 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 Miller also explained over a year ago, he appointed a subcommittee to work with Chief Ness. Ms. Stern distributed an article about a CERT drill she participated in to the board. She reported it was very well run. The board approved of having organizations and associations come together at the CRB meeting to discover the value of programs that could assist them. The neighborhoods and communities might then participate in them further. Motion Ms. Mura moved to approve participating in having organizations and associations come together at a CRB meeting for the purpose of discovering the value of the CERT program and perhaps participate in it further for their communities. Ms. Stern seconded the motion For the purpose of her motion, Ms. Mura clarified the event would be held in lieu of the April meeting. Ms. Scott noted this was a project the board already voted they would do, so it was a double. Chair Miller explained it was not; they were motioning to hold the open house in April. Ms. Mura would be contacting Chief Ness about the funding for postage. Vote The motion unanimously passed. b. Pride in Boynton Beach This item was addressed earlier in the meeting. IX. Reports/Updates Chair Miller distributed an article from the Palm Beach Post, entitled "Boynton faces up to gang violence" and asked if the board wanted to consider taking a role in the issue. He explained he attended his condominium monthly meeting and there was a 45-minute presentation given by two undercover police officers about gang activity that occurred last year. Most of the youth gangs in Palm Beach County and Boynton Beach were Haitian and there were four or five different gangs. One gang name was the Sand Castle Soldiers. Chair Miller pointed out there was an area in the north end of the City called the Sand Castle area where the gang heads their activities. Over the past year, the police logged over 100 gang related shootings, drive-bys or homicides in Palm Beach County and about 20 of the same in Boynton Beach. If the CRB wanted to playa role, he thought there should be some type of resolution of what they might do and let the City Commission and Police Department know the CRB was willing to step up and work with them and the clergy to help reach out. He explained the most frightening thing was the police advised anyone could go to a gun show, take a little training and buy an AK-47 automatic assault rifle. The police do not have AK-47s. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 Ms. Stern suggested if the board decided to playa role in the problem, it should take one small piece of the problem such as programs for job opportunities for youth (JOY), opportunities for part time work, fair wages, how to approach potential employers, how to find a job or how to interview. Chair Miller explained gang activity was not just youth crime. Mr. Sorgman suggested inviting Chief Immler to discuss what possible action the CRB could take to assist the community and Police Department to help solve the problem. There may be projects the police might want to see the CRB involved in. It was thought doing something was better than nothing. Ms. Williams thought what ever could be done should be done through the Police Department and whatever they decided to do, they should support it in full force. Ms. Hearst-Girtman pointed out there was a language barrier. She read the article and noted with the Haitian community, the board did not speak Creole, or Haitian. She explained in order to break through to the community they needed to find people who could speak Creole. Ms. Sullivan advised a church member she knew visited the family of the youth shot at the mall. This woman went to the home of the slain youth, and brought the cousin and brother to church, and they joined. She emphasized not to say they could not be helped. Vice Chair Mitchell explained after the killings on Hypoluxo Road, the newspaper called him to see what could be done. He observed in most situations, there were misunderstandings and thought if people communicated and were on the same page, the situation might be improved. He noted the Mayor, the Police and other law enforcement agencies have been trying to find solutions. The CRB was not an expert. Additionally, it was not known whether Reverend Chaney would be willing to see if the groups could be brought together to work things out. Ms. Hearst-Girtman explained there was a Haitian Church on the corner of NE 12th and N. Sea crest Boulevard, and another at the western end of Martin Luther King Boulevard. She thought if they had to work with the issue, they would need someone who understood and spoke Creole. All sections of the City should have someone available to work with groups such as these and go into the churches and present a program. She thought the Mayor should have requirements to present a program to the churches and find out how the CRB could help. She thought approaching the churches with programs would go a long way to bring those individuals into the community and help the City solve the issue. There were also two churches in Boca Raton and another church on NE 11th with large Haitian congregations. Members of the community who were in a position to do something about the issue could visit those churches. It could alert them the City was trying to do something about youth and gang violence. Ms. Scott commented the City Commission creates departments to run programs as a result of policy decisions they make. She advised there were underlying issues creating 6 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 problems for all communities, not just in Haitian communities. She explained the CRB could help the City Commission institute better policies resulting in staff implementing new programs. She agreed talking to community groups could be an important role in giving direction to the City Commission. She pointed out there were many children coming into the country that do not speak English who are bullied and ostracized. These are issues the CRB could review. Ms. Hearst-Girtman thought the effort must come from the top down such as from the Mayor or Police Chief, because it they extended the invitation, they would receive a response. She commented the Sheriff would come too. The issue was too big for the CRB. Chair Miller explained it was violent, indiscriminate crime that affects communities nationwide. Ms. Scott informed the board the City submitted a grant application to the County for a Youth Violence Prevention Program. She advised her office wrote the grant and she anticipated receiving funding. The City Manager was also trying to coordinate meetings with other cities. Motion Ms. Mura moved to invite Chief Immler to the March meeting for a discussion on violence and to see if there was anything the CRB could do to assist. Ms. Hearst- Girtman seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Ms. Stern spoke about a nine-year employee of Hunters Run who was a single parent of three children who was in need of assistance. She explained the woman had a serious medical condition and the woman was Haitian. Ms. Stern would approach the Haitian Church on her behalf. She thought if there was a guide of services the individual could utilize, that would help also. A discussion ensued and the board suggested she contact various agencies. Ms. Stern noted the support needed for the woman was for more than just medical treatment. She requested anyone who could offer assistance do so. Vice Chair Mitchell spoke about the CRB brochures and how often they were updated. He noted as individuals come off the board, the brochures then became antiquated. Chair Miller explained he has a small amount of brochures printed periodically and the updates were included. Ms. Scott explained she was not at the October meeting because she and her daughter were sick. In November, she went on a pre-approved vacation. Prior to that, her supervisor did not advise her that her attendance at the meetings was mandatory. She indicated she advised the Chair's that she would not be present. Ms. Mura apologized, for the record, that she did not speak up at the November meeting to say she was uncomfortable with the discussion held without Ms. Scott being present. She apologized profusely to Ms. Scott and thought there was no reason for the 7 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 discussion to take place without Ms. Scott being present. Ms. Stern, Ms. Williams and Ms. Hearst-Girtman agreed. Ms. Scott explained she was disappointed at the tone and information that was articulated in the minutes. The information went to the City Commission and her supervisor. She explained it was disturbing because she had no prior knowledge of the board concerns, and no one from the board indicated to her that they were displeased with her work. Her role was a liaison and one of her tasks was to move the board in the direction the ordinance outlined. She clarified if anyone felt she was being forward or aggressive, or the board was "on her coat tails", that was not her intent. She apologized if she offended anyone and indicated her only intent was to be supportive. Chair Miller explained her supervisor called the meeting and he and the Vice Chair attended. No other board member was aware of the meeting. Ms. Scott explained when she received the minutes she called Vice Chair Mitchell because she knew him while she was in high school. She shared with him she was displeased and confused where the comments came from. She indicated she would have expected the issues would have been discussed with her first. To put the comments on the record was a representation of her performance, which she took very seriously. She explained throughout her 20 years of publiC service, she has always provided exceptional service. Ms. Scott recognized Ms. Stern's comments from the last meeting that perhaps her energies were not being channeled properly. She acknowledged she was an energetic person who liked to see things moved on. She wanted it on the record that she apologized. She reported she was willing to work to support the board and that is what she intended to do, but it was disheartening. Ms. Williams commented she was not at the meeting, and if she had been she would have indicated personal issues should not have been discussed in a publiC forum. She thought the minutes were very inappropriate. Ms. Williams indicated if an item was not on the agenda, it should not be discussed. Vice Chair Mitchell clarified he was not invited to the meeting with the Assistant City Manager, rather the Chairman asked him to attend. Vice Chair Mitchell was glad Ms. Scott expressed herself. He announced his thoughts were the board members were all professionals or semi-retired professionals. He personally felt that they were not being treated as professionals. He understood fully now since Ms. Scott explained herself, but for himself personally, he did not feel he was treated professionally. Ms. Scott responded then it should have been a one to one discussion. He reported he wanted to enhance the City and he was ready to work wholeheartedly with her. Motion Ms. Hearst-Girtman moved the CRB, as a board, accept the liaisons words and comments and move on. Ms. Stern seconded the motion. 8 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, FL January 10, 2007 Chair Miller distributed the new Ethics Ordinance and indicated the Ordinance would be reviewed at the next meeting. x. Adjournment Motion Ms. Hearst-Girtman moved to adjourn. Ms. Mura seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~1 Catherine Ch rry-Guberman Recording Secretary 011007 9