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Minutes 12-09-98 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1998 AT 7:30 P.M. PRESENT Ron Washam, Chairman Melody Green, Recreation Superintendent Joy Currier, Vice Chairwoman Blanche Girtman Brenda Lee Williams Floyd Beil, Alternate ABSENT Beth Miller Stephanie Mingo-McKoy I. OPENING, PLEDGE, PRAYER Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m. Ms. Girtman led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by a moment of silent prayer. II. ROLL CALL – REGULAR MEMBERS – ALTERNATES The Recording Secretary called the roll and announced that Maynie Boles arrived for the meeting but requested an excuse to attend church choir practice. III. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS Dr. Beil acknowledged a friend in the audience. IV. AGENDA APPROVAL Chairman Washam requested that Item IX-B be deleted since he presented certificates at the last meeting. Motion Ms. Williams moved to accept the agenda with the exception of Item IX-B. Vice Chairwoman Currier seconded the motion that carried unanimously. V. MINUTES APPROVAL – November 12, 1998 (Regular Meeting) Motion th Ms. Girtman moved to approve the minutes of the November 12 meeting as presented with corrections if necessary. Vice Chairwoman Currier seconded the motion that carried unanimously. 1 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 9, 1998 VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Vice Chairwoman Currier expressed her gratitude for the generous donations ? that provided Thanksgiving dinners for a total of 1,200 adults and children. th Vice Chairwoman Currier announced that on December 17, HeadStart would ? celebrate Christmas with Jill Verderosa playing Santa Claus again this year. There are five new members in the HeadStart Godparent Program. With regard to the Holiday Parade, Ms. Girtman said she and Ms. Boles recalled brief discussions at the board meeting regarding participation. However, nothing was ever finalized and they knew nothing about the Community Relations Board float. Chairman Washam apologized and took full responsibility for the lack of communication. He explained that it was his intention to have children on the float rather than board members. That is not how it turned out. Chairman Washam advised Ms. Girtman that he saw her drive by the float and ran after her car to try to “catch up” with her. He was unsuccessful. VII. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Review upcoming holiday events Ms. Girtman announced that the youngsters from Treasure Chest would be ? singing at Boulevard Manor on Monday, December 21, 1998. Chairman Washam reported that Cracker Barrel is sponsoring an Angel Tree for ? Royal Palm School students. This will benefit approximately 40 children who would not have a very merry Christmas without that assistance. As of today, there were only 10 names remaining on the tree. Cracker Barrel has provided this Angel Tree for the past two years and they are very valuable to the community. Royal Palm School will send them a thank you. The Recording Secretary announced that the Annual Board Dinner would be held ? th on January 14 at Benvenuto’s Restaurant. Members will receive invitations via the mail. B. Chairman’s presentation This item was deleted from the agenda. 2 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 9, 1998 C. Review upcoming 1999 projects Chairman Washam feels the board should continue Youth in Government and the STAR Program. Dr. Beil recommended that the board be represented at every City event. This would give the board recognition. Dr. Beil said his vision for the board is to expand the board and to encourage people to attend the meetings. He requested an explanation of the purpose of the Community Relations Board. Chairman Washam explained that the Community Relations Board is an advisory board to the City Commission regarding issues and concerns within the community. The Community Relations Board is a “sounding board”. The board members do a great many things without any recognition. It is a hands-on, people-oriented board. Everything the board does, and everything the members say, goes directly to the Commission. Every board member has contact with the Mayor and Commissioners as well as staff, and they know the pulse of the community because of the Community Relations Board. The board has addressed a number of different problems over the years. For example, when a suggestion was made to adopt a curfew in the City, the Community Relations Board held workshop meetings to get input from the community. ? Ms. Williams advised that she has a sink hole in her front yard. She contacted the City on th November 11 and the response was to put a cone in the vicinity of the hole. No one has th been back to address the problem since November 11. Ms. Williams said she contacted the Utility Department last Thursday and intends to call again. Ms. Williams reported that a Community Forum meets at the Bible Church of God on the last Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. This Forum gets a great deal of recognition and many of the issues that would be addressed by the Community Relations Board are being addressed at the Community Forum. Anyone who attends a Forum is put on a mailing list and is sent a reminder of the next meeting. Ms. Girtman expressed her gratitude to Willie Webb’s team in Code Compliance for the work th they are doing to clean up NE 10 Avenue. She pointed out that this is a very difficult task since the clientele in this area is very transient. ? Ms. Girtman also complained that trash pickup in the northwest quadrant of the City is very slow. She has contacted the Public Works Department to complain. Trash is supposed to be picked up on Thursday, but it is not being picked up until Friday at the earliest. Her trash was not picked up until Saturday. In her travels throughout the City, she does not see trash in any other area but the northwest section of the City. Ms. Girtman would like this situation taken care of. Vice Chairwoman Currier believes it is important to take the board out into the community. 3 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 9, 1998 Chairman Washam explained that a great deal has been accomplished since the board’s inception more than 25 years ago. Ms. Girtman agreed that the board has worked on many problems over the years. She reiterated that the City Commission knows everything that is discussed by the board through the minutes of the meetings and through other sources throughout the City. Many suggestions for programs were brought up at Community Relations Board meetings. Others worked with the ideas that were presented by the board and programs were instituted. The programs were implemented as a direct result of the board addressing a particular issue. Ms. Girtman pointed out that she was one of the first people in Boynton Beach to work with the Community Block Grant Program. The first proposal made was for a multi- cultural building that is the Hester Center today. Ms. Girtman made that suggestion and received no credit for it. Ms. Girtman has lived in Boynton Beach for 50 years and other people have acted on many of the things that have been said at the board meetings. Although the board members did not get credit, people respect the members for their ideas. The members serve a purpose. Melody Green, Recreation Superintendent, substituted for Wilfred Hawkins. She believes the board’s purpose is to deal with challenges and make recommendations through the meeting minutes. She also encouraged the members to continue to share and acknowledge successes in the community. Boynton Beach is working very hard to become a world-class City and we need to build on our strengths. She recommended that a second function of the board be a celebration of community successes. Following a brief discussion of board membership, the Recording Secretary advised Dr. Beil that if he was interested in being moved up from an alternate position to a regular position, he should make his desire known to the City Commission. Dr. Beil stated he was interested in moving to a regular position and requested that the Recording Secretary notify the City Commission of his desire. Chairman Washam wished all of the members of the board and City staff a very safe holiday. He thanked the board members for making the past year a memorable one. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, the meeting properly adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Janet M. Prainito Deputy City Clerk (One Tape) 4