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Minutes 06-11-08 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008, AT 7:00 P.M. IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Brian Miller, Chair Victor Norfus, Vice Chair (arrived at 7:13 p.m.) Belky Cruz Blanche Hearst-Girtman (arrived at 7:11 a.m.) Paula Melley Eddie Mitchell Joyce Mura Stanley Sorgman Judy Immer, Alternate ABSENT: Phyllis Stern I. Call Meeting to Order - Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll. The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Judy Immer. III. Recognition of Visitors There were no visitors present. IV. Approval of Agenda The following additions were made to the agenda: · Item VII - Reports and Updates, CERT Summer Program - Ms. Mura. · Comments on the CERT program would also be made by Ms. Immer. 1 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 11, 2008 · Item VIII New Business - The American Assembly Implementation Subcommittee on Community Relations presentation and Commission recommendation of April 15, 2008. Motion Ms. Mura moved approval of the agenda as amended. Ms. Immer seconded the motion that unanimously passed. V. Approval of Minutes from April 9, 2008 Meeting Motion Mr. Sorgman moved to approve the minutes as presented. Ms. Mura seconded the motion that unanimously passed. VI. Announcements: 2008 Intergenerational Gathering Event Mr. Norfus arrived at 7:13 p.m. When: Time: Where: Purpose: Saturday, July 19, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Carolyn Sims Center at Wilson Park To raise awareness of youth violence, uniting diverse generations and bring safety into our city Mr. Norfus advised this was the second event they were having, and youth and elders were invited to attend. Last year, they gave out backpacks, food and had activities for the youth. There would be voter's registration on site and potential candidates running for office would attend. This would be an outside event with food preparation occurring inside the center. The pool was available for use, and there would be a clothing giveaway for kids, adults and anyone and possibly a health fair. VII. Reports/Updates: Mr. Norfus had nothing to report on the Crime Watch. a. Pride in Boynton Update - Poinciana Elementary School Chair Miller announced to date, the trash receptacles to be placed in the Heart of Boynton and on Federal Highway have still not arrived. He would contact Public Works to find out the reason for the delay. They were needed for the Pride in Boynton and the Great American Clean-up events. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 11, 2008 School is out and the gardens would be attended to in the fall. The kindergarten and fifth grade students had a great time planting flowers and vegetables. The best part of the program was to see the reaction of the students when their parents arrived to pick them up. The students took the time to show their parents what they had planted. It was reported this activity would be held again next year. Chair Miller explained the principal at Galaxy has moved on and been replaced by the assistant principal at Poinciana, so this could be a good way to bring the activity over to Galaxy Elementary School. The Community Relations Board had spoken with the Garden Club about becoming involved with the activity in the fall. The Garden Club indicated they were limited in their ability to provide hands on assistance. Chair Miller advised they volunteered to make a financial donation. Gardening is a universal activity and a great bonding tool. Ms. Melley offered to help next year. CERT Summer Program Ms. Mura explained on June 28, 2008, the Boynton Beach Mall would be hosting a Hurricane Expo, in which CERT volunteers participated in prior years. A table would be set up with hurricane shutters and other applicable items that were of interest to the public. County CERT volunteers would be in attendance as well, and if individuals were interested in the program and they did not reside within the City limits, they were directed to the County and vice-versa. The volunteers work two-hour shifts. A Disaster Drill would be held on Saturday, June 21, 2008. Volunteers participated in this drill in the past and would be meeting at Fire Station #3 at 7:45 a.m. to review safety procedures. Ms. Mura reported she could not attend this year, but had done so in the past. She reported the event was a great way to learn and reinforce what to do in the event of a disaster. Mr. Sorgman explained Chair Miller was signed up for the program and would attend the June 21, 2008 drill. There were five members of the Community Relations Board that were CERT certified and he strongly recommended the program. Ms. Mura announced the Palm Beach Post had an article in the Neighborhood Section advising of Deputy Fire Chief, Jim Ness' retirement. She hoped the CERT members would do something in his honor. The members expressed Mr. Ness would be hard to replace. Chair Miller agreed something should be done for him and asked Ms. Mura to look into it. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 11, 2008 Ms. Immer announced she enjoyed the CERT class, which was a six-week course, and she learned a great deal. Each week a different topic was taught, such as triage, search and rescue procedures, bandaging and first aid. These were things one did not normally know. She was impressed by the rabbi's presentation, and as president of her HOA, she requested publication of an article in her newsletter. Homeowners were encouraged to participate in the next CERT class and she may take the class a second time VIII. Old Business: None. IX. New Business: · Annual Board Election: Chair Miller passed the gavel for the annual board election. a) Chair Vice Chair Hearst-Girtman apologized for arriving late due to an appointment she had and opened the floor for nominations. Mr. Sorgman nominated Chair Miller to continue as Chairman. Ms. Mura nominated Victor Norfus. Mr. Mitchell moved to close the nominations. There were no objections and the nominations were closed. Mr. Sorgman suggested hearing from Chair Miller and Mr. Norfus. Chair Miller explained he served as Chair for the past few years and the board made progress. He explained the Community Relations Board was challenged to establish a Community Relations Team and create a road show. The recommendation was made by the American Assembly Subcommittee and presented to the City Commission at the April 15, 2008 meeting. He would like to continue in a leadership role and complete the task recommended by the American Assembly Subcommittee and sanctioned by the City Commission. Mr. Norfus was honored to be nominated but was not prepared to speak. He felt as a board, they needed more outreach in the community. He would not be the one person to make the decisions; he works with people and makes group decisions. He would like to try different ways to reach out to the community to 4 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 11, 2008 get them involved and resolve some of their issues. He would like to work with the City Commissioners and advised he would jump into the task; he was hardworking and puts a lot of effort into everything he does. Belky Cruz moved to hold the election. There were no objections to moving forward with the election. The vote for Chair Miller was held. Four votes were received in his favor, (Ms. Immer, Ms. Melley, and Messrs. Sorgman, and Mitchell voting aye) The vote for Mr. Norfus was held. Three votes were received in his favor, (Mr. Norfus, Ms. Cruz, and Ms. Mura voting aye.) It was noted some individuals did not vote for either candidate and the members repeated the vote. The vote for Chair Miller was 5 - 3, (Ms. Cruz, Ms. Mura and Mr. Norfus dissenting, and Vice Chair Hearst-Girtman abstaining.) The vote for Mr. Norfus was 3 - 5, (Messrs, Mitchell, Sorgman, Miller and Ms. Immer and Ms. Melley dissenting, and Ms. Hearst-Girtman abstaining.) There was discussion whether the other person nominated for Chair could be made the Vice Chair. While there were no objections to the suggestion; however, it was noted that other members may want to nominate another individual and Roberts Rules required a nomination be held. Ms. Hearst-Girtman passed the gavel to Chair Miller. b. Nominations for Vice Chair Ms. Mura nominated Mr. Norfus for Vice Chair. Ms. Cruz seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations were received. Mr. Mitchell moved the nominations be closed. Ms. Hearst-Girtman seconded the motion. Mr. Norfus was elected Vice Chair. . Summer Break 5 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 11, 2008 Motion Mr. Mitchell moved to have the board break in August. Ms. Hearst-Girtman seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Youth in Government Day. Ms. Hearst-Girtman requested they put more effort into the event to obtain a larger attendance. She reported she enjoyed the event and she attended the lunch with the students. She did not attend the evening session but expressed her understanding it was a nice evening. She requested the event be continued and advised this year they had 18-20 students that participated. Chair Miller thanked Ms. Hearst-Girtman for her assistance on the board as did the other members. Ms. Hearst-Girtman appreciated the comments and indicated she was willing to serve and thought they had good officers that made the board more effective. There was a brief discussion on having young people serving on the board and the importance of having other individuals participate in the process. A short discussion about creating public awareness for the Community Relations Board followed. The new Chair and Vice Chair were challenged to let the community know there is a Community Relations Board and in an effort to do so, the City placed notices in the newspaper advising of the meetings. Chair Miller explained the only time the board had an audience was when they were presenting a program. The members discussed the board had to go to the people, and it was suggested having meetings at different locations in the City. It was thought if the board had a message and they had a meeting at an offsite location, they could generate an audience. In the past, the board made that attempt at Rolling Green Elementary School and the Hester Center, but the effort was unsuccessful. It was also suggested sending members to different association meetings since there would be different venues. Another matter the board discussed was the high school had a principal change this summer and the change was the fourth change since the school was built. This change was worrisome to some members and it was thought, as a group and as a community, the board should do something about it for the youth. The members did not know the way to go about finding additional information but it was thought the members should look into the issue because continuity was important for the students. Vice Chair Norfus left the dais at 7:55 p.m. 6 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 11, 2008 Discussion followed that as the City expanded and the population changed, the School Board could influence what happened in the City as it pertained to education. It was noted there was no representation from the City on the School Board, although Commissioner Ross was involved with the school district. It was not known what the turnover rate at the other high schools was as it pertained to principals. Vice Chair Norfus returned to the dais at 7:59 p.m. The members discussed inviting the new principal to a meeting so the citizens could meet him or her. The high school was a young school and the philosophy of the superintendent was he believed in changing the principals every three years. In most instances, those principals were promoted to higher positions within the district office. It was mentioned the present principal had one more year before retiring and would be moving to the district office. The members extolled Ms. Perry's leadership at the high school and thought it was a mistake to remove her. The school district also attempts to place an individual that suited for the school in order to raise the FCAT scores. Since inception, the school never achieved more than a D rating. Chair Miller would speak with Commissioner Ross to hear her suggestions. Vice Chair Norfus also mentioned the members had previously discussed approaching the radio station to broadcast information about the Community Relations Board. He expressed if the board wanted to inform the citizens about issues, the radio would be a good tool. It was decided Boynton Beach High School would be one of the board's projects for the year. The mindset of the members was it was taking too long for the school to fall in line with other high schools as far as FCA T scores were concerned. Chair Miller would contact Commissioner Ross, and he and Vice Chair Norfus would contact the new principal. This item would be put on the July agenda and Commissioner Ross and the new principal or the outgoing principal would be invited to attend. This would be a starting point for the board and the members would put a committee together. After further discussion, the members would bring ideas to the July meeting. Vice Chair Norfus would contact Ms. Perry and Ms. Hearst-Girtman would assist him. The American Assembly Implementation Subcommittee on Community Relations presentation and Commission recommendation of April 15, 2008. Chair Miller addressed this item under Election of Chair comments. 7 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 11, 2008 X. Adjournment Motion Ms. Mura moved to adjourn. Ms. Melley seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 8: 1 0 a.m. futh/dJl(L MjVL~L Catherine Cherry if Recording Secretary 061308 8