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Minutes 03-14-07 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2007, AT 7:00 P.M. HELD IN THE CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FL PRESENT: Brian Miller, Chair Eddie Mitchell, Vice Chair Belky Cruz Blanch Hearst-Girtman Joyce Mura Stanley Sorgman Phyllis Stern Brenda Williams Sanford Mendelsohn, Alternate Regenia Scott, Manager, Neighborhood Services I. Call Meeting to Order - Pledge of Allegiance Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Police Officer Tome led the Pledge of Allegiance. II. Roll Call Chair Miller called the roll and determined a quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors Chair Miller recognized guest speaker Bill Tome, Boynton Beach Police Officer, head of the Police Athletic League (PAL). Ms. Hearst-Girtman joined the meeting. IV. Approval of Agenda Chair Miller added the Chairperson's Report and noted a change of speakers, from Chief Immler and the gang task force to Police Officer Tome. Motion Ms. Stern moved to approve the agenda with the above changes. Mr. Mendelsohn seconded the motion that passed unanimously. 1 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 V. Approval of Minutes for February 14, 2007, Meeting Motion Ms. Mura moved to approve the minutes as presented. Ms. Hearst-Girtman seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Officer Bill Tome, head of the Police Athletic League (PAL) in Boynton Beach, addressed the members. He had been a Police Officer in Boynton Beach for 20 years, and had served with the Police Departments of New York City and Delray Beach. In Boynton Beach, he was initially assigned to patrol and undercover. Fifteen years ago, a new position with the Recreation Athletic Police (RAP) became available through Children's Services. The idea was to assign an Officer to Hester Park to get to know the local children. Officer Tome, the only Officer assigned to the program, now manages 60 to 70 volunteers per year to run the program. The first Police Athletic League (PAL) initiative had been basketball and baseball involving 30 to 40 children. Currently, 600 to 700 children participate. The football program, the "Bulldogs", was added 13 years ago. It started with three football teams and now included five teams of approximately 35 children per team for boys, and 15 per team for girls (cheerleaders). The Basketball program now included 40 to 50 children involved in local competitions with advancement to state and national tournaments. Officer Tome shared that the PAL program was originally funded by the City and the Police Department with $20K per year. Now, funding stands at approximately $120K, funded by $40K from the City and Police Department with the remainder funded by grants, fundraisers, and corporate donations. The PAL program's goal and tagline was to "fill playgrounds, not prisons". Four or five PAL participants have moved up to play with the National Football League (NFL). Of greater significance was the fact that most of the participants went to college or were out working. Officer Tome knew all of the children could not be saved, but he gladly accepted 80% or 90%. He had also experienced a good response from the children after they left the program. As adults, some of them had returned as volunteers. Currently, ten, twelve and fourteen year olds were participating in the State PAL tournament in Miramar, Florida. Two of the teams had won the regional competition and would be advancing to the State competition to represent Boynton Beach at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Depending on available funding, Officer 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 Tome planned to take at least one team to the National Tournament in Kansas City. He indicated the trip would cost $7,000 - $9,000 for each team. The children had been fortunate to attend the National Tournaments in Kentucky, Atlantic City and New York in the last few years. The trips were a big opportunity for them. Most of the children came from underprivileged, single parent homes. Before meeting Officer Tome, they interacted with Police Officers in a negative way. Now they were off the street and participating in a positive alternative program. And the parents had become very involved with the program. At least half of the parents attended the games, more at away games than local games. It was not uncommon to see over 1,000 people in attendance at home games on Saturday at Hester Park, attending the five games played in one day, from 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Officer Tome stated that funding was needed to expand the program and make it better. Ms. Williams spoke of the grant the City had recently received for combating gang violence and wanted to know if PAL was being considered to receive any of those funds. The grant was focused on older teens, and the PAL football program did include children up to age 15. Additionally, the PAL basketball program took a team of 18 year olds to participate in the tournament in New York City. Officer Tome confirmed he had given input to the Recreation Department regarding the grant funding. Regenia Sco~ Manager of Neighborhood Services, joined the meeting. Chair Miller introduced Ms. Scott to Officer Tome. Ms. Stern commended Officer Tome's efforts and the PAL Program, and inquired whether the Haitian community was being integrated into the programs. Officer Tome responded that PAL programs were County-wide and anyone coming to Hester Park could play. He indicated many Haitian children participated in the program; however, there was no specific targeting to attract the Haitian community at this time. One of Officer Tome's goals was to hold a soccer tournament specifically involving Haitians and Latinos. Mr. Mitchell stated he had followed the PAL program and had known Officer Tome for many years. He commended the Officer for his accomplishments with the children and their parents, observing that the PAL program was focused on saving younger children, before they reached the age where they would no longer listen. He suspected there might not be a PAL program focused on serving older teens. Mr. Mitchell observed that the basketball and football teams received only minimal support from the City, and it was through the personal efforts of Officer Tome that funding for this valuable program had been accomplished. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 Ms. Cruz inquired if the schools would open to help PAL target Haitians and Latinos. Officer Tome was receptive to ideas and suggestions, reminding members that PAL would need facilities, parks and manpower. Ms. Cruz suggested that opening up schools for teen sports activities could help curtail gang activity. Having worked with a similar, successful program before, she suggested running the programs at one school, possibly a high school; then sending out a survey to secure a consensus and using the feedback to provide direction. Chair Miller invited members of the board to get involved. Officer Tome enthusiastically gave out his phone number and suggested they call between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to help him fill playgrounds, not prisons. Chair Miller asked Ms. Scott if grant money would be available for Officer Tome and the PAL Program. Ms. Scott indicated that PAL at the Hestor Center had been included in the development phase for grant funds earmarked for teens ages 13 to 21 years old. Ms. Hearst-Girtman thanked and complimented Officer Tome for his vital work with children and young people. She believed there must be some way to work together with the Police and the schools to provide teens with alternatives to gangs and stop bad habits before they developed. Hoping to save the children and the future, she felt sports would be a good place to start. VI. Announcements · i-Mile Hunger Walk to benefit nonprofit, Sunday, March 18th (Community Caring Center). To help eradicate hunger. Chair Miller handed out a flyer detailing the i-Mile Hunger Walk to benefit the Community Caring Center. In response to the call to eradicate hunger, Mr. Mendelsohn asked if Publix Supermarket had come back on line with its donated food distribution program, which had been halted for lack of refrigerated delivery trucks. Ms. Stern responded that the program was up and running as long as refrigerated trucks were donated for use by organizations. VII. Reports/Updates · Four Sea Suns Condo and Pride in Boynton beautification-cleanup day held on Saturday, February lih, 2007, 9:00 a.m. - 12-noon - Brian Miller 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 Chair Miller advised that the cleanup day at the Four Sea Suns Condo had been very successful, despite the cold weather. After the event, the residents had provided pizza for all the volunteers. Christine Roberts from the Department of Public Works had provided a truck to pick everything up that morning, which worked out very well. VIII. Old Business · Street Lighting recommendation - Brian Miller The street lighting recommendation was finally close to being finalized. Chair Miller road with a Police Officer last Friday night, and noticed many of the streetlights were out. They looked into a simple system that could be used by City employees working at night to report the light outages. The lights in reported locations would be replaced within five to seven working days after the report was received by FP&L. Chair Miller had met with Jeff Livergood of Public Works and they both would be meeting with Chief Immler to review a program aimed at increasing lighting in Districts Two and Three. Recounting the beautification and clean up at Four Sea Suns Condo, he reported seeing quite a few areas that were dark because there were no light poles. The dark areas were badly littered by people congregating at night. Chair Miller would report back to the board after the upcoming meeting with Jeff Livergood and Chief Immler. · CERT update - Joyce Mura, Stanley Sorgman and Phyllis Stern Ms. Mura reported that the Community Relations Board was going to help promote CERT through the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program at the April 11th, 2007, meeting. She explained the Community Relations Board acts in an advisory capacity on issues of a City-wide concern, and hurricane disaster preparedness fell into that category. Jim Ness, Deputy Chief of Administration, Boynton Beach Fire Rescue, had drafted a flyer for the event. Additionally, the newspapers could be contacted to provide visibility to the event. Ms. Mura asked Ms. Scott if she would print labels for the flyer mailing. Chief Ness would provide postage. Ms. Mura suggested that everyone participating in the event should wear the CERT vests and shirts and bring their equipment for display. Mr. Sorgman had agreed to speak on his personal CERT experience. Ms. Mura also agreed to bring a layout of her condo association to be displayed along with a large poster showing how many days were left until hurricane season started. She indicated Deputy Chief Ness would also be providing refreshments for the event. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 Mr. Sorgman shared that the CERT program was a vital program manned by volunteers. He hoped CRB members would invite friends and neighbors to the April 11th meeting to increase visibility and community involvement. Ms. Williams left the meeting. Mr. Sorgman requested a color copy of the April 11th flyer to post in his community. Ms. Scott indicated Deputy Chief Ness could print out the flyers in color. In fact, every member wanted flyers to hand out. Ms. Stern emphasized how important it would be to quickly distribute as many flyers as possible to fill the seats. She indicated there should be a plan in place to promote the event and stimulate interest in the Community Relations Board and CERT Program. Ms. Mura referred to the flyer mailing and the proposed newspaper article. Chair Miller asked Ms. Scott to review the flyer for content and motivational ideas. Regenia Scott, Manager of Neighborhood Services, commented on the flyer. She suggested that if the meeting was a town hall meeting to discuss disaster preparedness, that was how it should be marketed. She was hesitant to make specific suggestions without knowing the agenda for the meeting. Ms. Mura explained the meeting's purpose was to introduce attendees to the CERT program, provide information and, hopefully, motivate them to become involved. Ms. Scott suggested using the phrases "town hall meeting on disaster preparedness _ are our communities ready" and "Neighbors Helping Neighbors". She proposed talking about how communities could prepare by utilizing the existing CERT neighborhoods as mentors or liaisons to newer neighborhoods. She also mentioned highlighting and increasing the font size on the date and time of the meeting and bolding the word "Refreshments". As a reminder, she noted refreshments were not allowed in the Chamber and would have to be restricted to the lobby. To highlight and recognize the Community Relations Board, she also recommended heading the flyer with "The Community Relations Board presents...". By request, Regenia agreed to review and redesign the flyer as appropriate. IX. New Business - Pride in Boynton · Beautification Cleanup, Saturday, March 31st - Brian Miller 6 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 Chair Miller announced a small beautification cleanup day would be held on Saturday, March 31st, 2007. At a recent meeting, the CRA had agreed to purchase four-dozen large and extra-large adult t-shirts for the event. Mr. Mitchell asked for clarification about the small cleanup. Neighborhood Services had given him information on the All American Cleanup on April 22nd, which was a separate event. He wanted to know if there was going to be a cleanup every month in the Heart of Boynton, since the March 31st cleanup would be the second one and the April 22nd would be the third cleanup. He also had seen a small cleanup group last week near the area where Boynton Terrace used to be, which must have been organized by a different, unidentified group. Mr. Miller indicated the area residents and their children were willing and ready to participate with the cleanup around Martin Luther King Boulevard and 11th and lih Streets. As long as the CRA was going to fund the t-shirts and the residents had agreed to participate, there was no reason not to hold the cleanup. · Pride in Boynton Beautification - Flower Planting at Galaxy Elem. School Chair Miller had met with Mr. Sims, Principal at the Galaxy Elementary School, and planned for the children to plant flowers after school one day next week. Teachers would coordinate the project. Chair Miller invited all members to participate, and would contact them shortly with the date. On separate subjects, Chair Miller distributed an article from the Palm Beach Post titled "Heart of Boynton Gets New Review", for everyone to read and possibly discuss at the next meeting. He also spoke about an Assembly that had been held by the City on Hutchinson Island in October, 2006. Recommendations from that Assembly called for five subcommittees; Community Relations, Public Communication and Governance, Neighborhood Revitalization, Affordable Housing Business Development and Retention, and Infrastructure and Education. Chair Miller had attended the meeting where the applications were reviewed to form the five subcommittees. Unfortunately, there were not enough applications received to form the committees. The sixty assembly attendees would be re-contacted, and Chair Miller invited all board members to consider sending in an application. Ms. Stern exclaimed that she had personally contacted City Hall to apply, but nobody knew anything about the project. Mr. Mitchell expressed he had attended in the past, but had not been invited to this Assembly. Little information had been disseminated to the public. 7 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 Ms. Hearst-Girtman inquired if the student government update would be on the April calendar update. Ms. Scott indicated the update would be pushed back a couple of weeks to early May. Ms. Cruz asked if the Police Chief and gang task force would be invited to speak at the next meeting as previously planned. Ms. Scott informed everyone there was a countywide "Gang Community Town Hall Meeting" scheduled for March 27th, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. until 12;00 p.m., at the Duncan Theatre on the PBCC Lake Worth Campus. The Sheriff, Bill McCollum, Florida Attorney General and gang professionals would be in attendance. Chair Miller responded that he would reschedule the Police Chief and gang task force presentation to the June CRB meeting. Chair Miller requested a motion to move forward with the April 11th, 2007, event. A lengthy discussion ensued. Motion Mr. Mendelsohn moved to approve the April 11th, 2007, event. Mr. Sorgman seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Chair Miller related he had attended a PEACE (People Engaged in Active Community Efforts) rally at St. John's Church. The 2007 focus of this County-wide organization would be affordable housing, alternative education and health care. On Monday, March 26th, 2007, at 6:30 p.m., at the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in West Palm Beach, PEACE would be holding an Action Assembly with presentations by the Superintendent of Schools and several public officials to address the problems and gaps faced by the residents of Palm Beach County. x. Adjournment Motion Ms. Stern moved to adjourn. Ms. Hearst-Girtman seconded the motion that passed unanimously. 8 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 14, 2007 Next meetinG will be Wednesday, ADril11, 2007 at 7:00 D.m. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. R~ i L ~U:UQ Robin Hem~~ I Recording Secretary 03-14-07 9