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Minutes 01-09-08 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9,2008, AT 7:00 P.M. IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Brian Miller, Chair Blanche Hearst-Girtman, Vice Chair Belky Cruz Eddie Mitchell Joyce Mura Victor Norfus Stanley Sorgman Phyllis Stern Brenda Lee Williams, Alt. Thelma Lyons, Neighborhood Services Absent: Judy Immer I. Call Meeting to Order - Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Ms. Hearst-Girtman led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors Chair Miller welcomed the members back after the holidays. Chair Miller noted Judy Immer was a new member of the board, however, she was not present. There were no visitors present. IV. Approval of Agenda Motion Ms. Stern moved to approve the agenda. Ms. Hearst-Girtman seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 1 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2008 V. Approval of Minutes of October 10,2007 Meeting Motion Ms. Stern moved to approve the minutes. Ms. Mura seconded the motion that unanimously passed. VI. Announcements Thelma Lyons announced the grand opening of the Wilson Center would be on February 9, 2008. The event was open to the public at 12 noon. For those who received invitations, this event would begin at 11 :00 am. She explained this was also for the Carolyn Sims Memorial and the Denison Pool. Ms. Williams spoke as a resident and reported on the proposed closing of Galaxy Elementary School. There was a petition going to the school board to reverse the decision to close it. This would affect residents of the community. She explained since this board addressed issues that affected the community, she encouraged members to circulate petitions. Ms. Lyons would try to obtain petitions for the board's use. It was reported there were petitions available at St. John Missionary Baptist Church. On a different matter, Ms. Williams requested the following statement be included in the record. She announced she has been serving in a volunteer capacity for well over 25 years and did not know what the criteria between being appointed as an alternate and a regular board member was. She was appointed as an alternate. She does not want to be an alternate and if she was not appointed as a regular member between now and the next meeting, she would resign. She had no further comments to make on the matter. Ms. Williams resides in District II, and she was not sure who appointed her. The board noted the City Commissioners have a rotation schedule for board appointments. Chair Miller advised he would look into the matter. He noted this occurred in the past with Diane Pacheco. There was one regular position on the board open. VII. Reports/Updates a) December 2007 Holiday Parade Mr. Sorgman reported on the holiday parade held on December 1, 2007. He advised they had great weather and a great turnout with the residents coming out in full force. Chair Miller and Mr. Sorgman drove a car in the parade and had fun participating. He hoped the City would continue the event in the future. The town was decorated and the supplies and labor were donated. He hoped to participate in future parades again. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2008 VIII. Old Business b) Street Lighting status update (Heard out of order.) Chair Miller requested an update on street lights. Mr. Norfus reported street lights were approved and paid for by the City. Lighting improvements such as brighter lights and missing lights were installed or replaced. Mr. Norfus would follow up to see what lighting was installed by FPL. The City had not verified any work done by FPL and he wanted to continue to follow up in that regard. Overall, he reported there was definite improvement. Mr. Norfus explained he would try to get the community to start a neighborhood watch or association. Residents had indicated they did not want to start those activities because the lights were too low. He advised residents saw a big improvement in the area and he would follow up on the issue with residents. Chair Miller thought continuing to upgrade street lighting and involving more residents was great. Starting a Crime Watch program was also suggested. Mr. Norfus explained they accomplished the first step, and now they would try to put together the next step such as an association. He had been working with Public Works, in the area of 14th to 16th Avenue and from Seacrest Boulevard to Federal Highway regarding the lighting. This was initiated because of the crime reports indicating the area was the most violent area of the City. Chair Miller thought working with the Police Department to start a Crime Watch would be beneficial and they would form a subcommittee to work with the Police Department. The Community Relations Board could spearhead the effort. It would also help retain residents because residents were moving out due to crime. Mr. Sorgman suggested inviting the Chief of Police to the next meeting, to determine what they could contribute would be helpful. The Police Department would have good ideas that would enhance the safety of the community. A short discussion ensued about the proper actions and procedures to take. It was noted if the board wanted to become proactive, they would have to go to the City Commission first because the board was advisory to the City Commission. Ms. Lyons explained first, the support of the neighborhood was needed in order to form a neighborhood association. Then Ms. Lyons' staff would bring in the police officers and Crime Watch. Ms. Stern agreed with Ms. Lyons. She noted on a broader scale they could approach the City Commission and the Police Department about prevention, and helping youth having difficulties, perhaps a volunteer or a professional counselor could be retained 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2008 The Heart of Boynton neighborhood was having a meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Hester Center next week. Mr. Norfus explained they would need to follow board procedures. He clarified what he had done so far with the street lighting he had done as a private individual. He was, however, in favor of going to the Commission. Chair Miller thought it would be effective as a board to undertake the effort. Ms. Cruz explained Crime Watch would take a lot of effort and the individual had to be totally committed to doing the job. She does the Crime Watch for her area and she explained once she established a relationship with the community, she goes in and gives updates. They are also invited to different meetings, such as CERT and other activities. Mr. Sorgman felt the best tool to fight crime was public awareness. Individuals being educated to be aware of their surroundings would make the biggest impact. Ms. Hearst-Girtman explained years ago when there was lower crime, they had a lot of those activities. Today there was a whole different element of crime barraging the City and too many law enforcement officers were in jeopardy, as were residents. If the board could think of ways to bring about changes, she was in favor of instituting them. She did not, however, think it would be appropriate for the board to initiate anything that could put anyone in harms way. It was suggested the Police Chief, or Officer Huntington from Crime Watch be invited as a speaker for the next meeting. A discussion ensued and it was noted the telephone number on the card issued by the Police to report neighborhood issues did not work. The board liked the idea of having an avenue to follow to report issues on an anonymous basis. Ms. Stern applauded the willingness of the board to assist in fighting crime. The Community Relations Board provided a vehicle to implement change. Ms. Hearst- Girtman read from the Community Relations Board Ordinance relating to the purpose of the board. She proposed they put notices in the neighborhood papers, under community services that the Community Relations Board would be happy to hear from private citizens about what they think was needed for their neighborhood and what services were needed. She thought they may get responses from readers and it could provide some direction as it pertained to the scope of the Board's ability. She suggested taking simple steps. Mr. Sorgman agreed and thought the Board was lacking in that area. They needed an audience to be aware of what they were doing. Ms. Lyons noted the meetings were 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2008 posted but Ms. Stern thought the notices should include motivation to attend meetings. Ms. Lyons explained the meetings would also be advertised on Boynton Beach TV. Motion Ms. Cruz moved to invite Officer Huntington to attend the next meeting to make a presentation on what they were currently doing. Ms. Hearst-Girtman wanted it on record there were too many individuals parking vehicles in yards, and that it causes too many accidents. Additionally, she reported individuals are fixing vehicles at home, obstructing neighborhood driveways and residents could not get out of their garages. Chair Miller suggested contacting Code Compliance. She thought they did a pretty good job, but advised they needed stronger enforcement in her area. Motion Ms. Cruz made a motion to invite Scott Blasie, Code Compliance Administrator, to the next meeting. Mr. Sorgman seconded the motion that unanimously carried. a) Pride in Boynton Beach - Beautification Program at Poinciana Magnet School Chair Miller reported they were working with Poinciana Magnet School on their beautification project. Students were planting flowers in the front of the school and the kindergarten students had a vegetable garden in the back of the school. The supplies and plantings were donated and the students were enthusiastic. They would next request some of the students and teachers start a Garden Club. He invited board members who would like to participate to do so. Mr. Sorgman explained Village Royale on the Green has a nursery and they grow their own plants. They donated 75 shrubs in the past and it was a pleasure seeing the students plant them. He thought if they could keep students and youth active, it would keep them off the street. He highly recommended becoming involved. Ms. Williams explained the student population and the geographic locations of the students attending the school showed most of the students were not from Boynton Beach. She reported 90% of the students were bused in. She advised 90% of Boynton Beach resident students attend Galaxy Elementary School. She requested more research be done when doing volunteer work for the schools. She explained Rolling Green, Forest Park and Galaxy Elementary School all serve the Boynton Beach population and magnet schools draw from other communities to keep the schools from becoming too "black". 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2008 Chair Miller explained the first school they volunteered with was Galaxy School, however, Mr. Sims was transferred. They approached Galaxy again, and they were in the process of painting the school and rather than waiting they moved to Poinciana. Chair Miller thought it was important to provide the history. He went to Galaxy Elementary School at least two or three times to speak with the new principal. He agreed with Ms. Williams and indicated that would be the next focal point. Ms. Cruz suggested all the schools be approached. Chair Miller agreed but pointed out that as they broadened and approached different schools, they would need more volunteers. A discussion followed about the various schools and their history followed. Ms. Hearst- Girtman explained Galaxy Elementary School was important because it was a neighborhood school that local students could walk to. It was a cornerstone in the community. She was in favor of keeping the school open and beautifying it. Mr. Mitchell agreed Poinciana was a beautiful school, but the emphasis should be placed on the schools that serviced Boynton Beach students. c) New Business a. Board discussion of 2008 agenda Ms. Mura commented some members were disappointed they did not have their December luncheon. She expressed she was more disappointed they did not get notification that the luncheon was cancelled. Ms. Hearst-Girtman apologized for the board not alerting the members about the luncheon cancellation. She had already discussed it with some members. Mr. Mitchell suggested following the rules they had over the years, which was to not have any board activity during the month of December. He expressed it left the impression the board was not organized. Future items for 2008 were discussed. Mr. Mitchell suggested reviewing what they had accomplished last year, and continuing on, leaving no unfinished projects, or projects that had not yet been implemented. Ms. Cruz recommended sending out a survey to the residents of Boynton Beach to ascertain their concerns and needs. Vice Chair Hearst-Girtman suggested each member bring in a suggestion for the next meeting 6 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 9, 2008 d) Adjournment Motion Ms. Cruz moved to adjourn. Mr. Norfus seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m. c . ClwlLt- Catherine Cher~ Recording Secretary 011608 7