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Minutes 03-10-99 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1999 AT 7:30 P.M. PRESENT Ron Washam, Chairman Melody Green, Recreation Superintendent Maynie Boles Joy Currier, Vice Chairperson Stephanie Mingo-McKoy Brenda Lee Williams Floyd Beil, Voting Alternate ABSENT Blanche Girtman Beth Miller I. OPENING, PLEDGE, PRAYER Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. and asked Ms. Boles to lead the members in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by a moment of silent prayer. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll and a quorum was declared present. Ms. Green stated that Interim City Manager Wilfred Hawkins was out of town and Ms. Green is sitting in his place. III. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS None IV. AGENDA APPROVAL Chairman Washam asked if there were any changes or additions to the agenda. Hearing none, he called for a motion to approve the agenda. Motion Ms. Boles moved that the Agenda be approved. Motion seconded by Vice Chair Currier. Motion carried unanimously. MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 10, 1999 V. MINUTES APPROVAL – Regular Meeting of February 10, 1999 Motion Ms. Mingo-McCoy moved that the minutes of the February 10, 1999 meeting be approved. Motion seconded by Ms. Williams. Motion carried unanimously. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Mingo-McKoy said she visited this Library this evening and when she arrived the Library was full of children that were totally out of control. Chairman Washam suggested that this be added as Item C under “New Business”. Ms. Green said she had information on the action that has taken place to address this problem. Chairman Washam announced that on April 18, 1999 at the Royal Palm School at 1:00 p.m. the School was going for the Guinness Book of World Records for signing. Chairman Washam said they had enough signers to break the record, but support staff was still needed for directing crowds, vending of tee shirts, selling sodas and assisting in other areas. Chairman Washam said that if anyone would like to volunteer he would be glad to take their names. Chairman Washam said that the Today Show has expressed an interest. Chairman Washam indicated that the entire show should last between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., as there will be other presentations taking place. Chairman Washam said that the song would only take two minutes to perform. Vice Chair Currier inquired if assistance was needed to set up, but Chairman Washam said that service clubs would be setting up and there will be an orientation day held on th April 10, but was uncertain of the time. Ms. Currier thanked everyone for the calls and cards received by her and her husband during their recent illnesses. Vice Chair Currier said she would be undergoing an th operation on March 24. VII. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None VIII. OLD BUSINESS 2 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 10, 1999 A. G.A.L.A. Ms. Green said that the City is providing two 10’ x 20’ tents and two tables for all the “people boards” and this Board needs to establish a schedule to have their table staffed on Saturday and Sunday. Ms. Green said if someone could not be present throughout the entire event, the Board should have printed material available for the public. Ms. Mingo-McKoy said she would prepare a brochure about the Board for handout. Vice Chair Currier said that the Forest Park School was not able to accommodate this Board’s request to hold a meeting on Wednesday evening as there are other events scheduled on that night. Vice Chair Currier indicated that the meeting date could be changed, but the School has not gotten back to her. After discussion, it was agreed that the Board Ordinance would be incorporated into some type of brochure. Chairman Washam stated that staffing the booth at the G.A.L.A. is a rewarding and fun experience and affords people an opportunity to attend the G.A.L.A. Ms. Green said that the booth should be staffed between 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Ms. Green noted the evening activities went to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, but the non-profit booths only stay open until 6:00 p.m. Members completed the schedule of the hours they could work at the G.A.L.A. Vice Chair Currier said that a storyboard would be nice displaying all the work this Board has done. Chairman Washam asked Ms. Green the location of the booths and Ms. Green said they would be located somewhere along Ocean Avenue. B. Meeting Locations Vice Chair Currier said that Ms. Girtman has offered her childcare center and Ms. Rahming has offered HeadStart. Chairman Washam said that the April meeting had been tentatively scheduled to take place at Forest Park School. Vice Chair Currier suggested Rolling Green and Dr. Beil said that Homeowner’s Associations had also been suggested. Chairman Washam said he would like to do this in the future and that more meetings should be held in the community. Ms. Mingo-McKoy suggested that a neutral place should be chosen such as a school, church or synagogue and that flyers could be prepared letting people know where the meetings will take place. Vice Chair Currier said she would check with Rolling Green to determine their availability. Vice Chair Currier suggested the flyers be printed in both English and Haitian. Ms. Mingo-McKoy suggested that not only should the flyer be distributed at the School itself, but should also be distributed throughout the community. Ms. Mingo- 3 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 10, 1999 McKoy said it was important to build a rapport with the community. Ms. Mingo-McKoy suggested that the time of the meeting should be changed from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There was a consensus on the Board that the April meeting would be held at the Rolling Green School at 6:30 p.m. Vice Chair Currier will report back to Chairman Washam if the School was available. Ms. Green suggested that when a meeting place is changed, the City Clerk’s Office needs to be notified so that it can be properly advertised. C. Advisory Board Forum Chairman Washam said that a new format for the Forums is being worked on to expedite the meetings and each Board will be afforded a certain amount of time to make their presentation. Chairman Washam said this Board needs to pick out a specific date and location for the Forum that this Board will be sponsoring. Chairman Washam felt the Library was the most advantageous location and that the last Board Forum had a good turnout. Chairman Washam said the Board should decide upon a spotlight program and that it should be a community oriented program. Chairman Washam suggested the Board could spotlight the Homeless Veterans Project. Chairman Washam stated this should be on next month’s agenda for further discussion. D. Homeless Veterans Project Chairman Washam said that Ms. Miller was going to give a report on the Homeless Veterans Project this evening, but was not present. Vice Chair Currier stated that Ms. Miller has approached Home Depot for a roof for the building, but she does not know the status of that request. Vice Chair Currier stated if Home Depot did not come through, different businesses in the community should be approached for help and the Chamber of Commerce may know of someone who could do the roof. Vice Chair Currier said that furniture, clothing, dishes, and pots and pans have been donated. Chairman Washam said he would have a truck available for transporting these articles. Vice Chair Currier also said that people have offered assistance with computer training. Dr. Beil suggested that the Board should take a tour of this facility and could meet at his office on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. for this purpose. Chairman Washam said that any Board member wishing to tour the facility should be at Dr. Beil’s office on Saturday. Chairman Washam said he would contact Ms. Miller to make the necessary arrangements. E. Black Awareness Recognition Award 4 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 10, 1999 Vice Chair Currier said that the plaque that was presented was beautiful and Vice Chair Currier said that she presented it. Dr. Beil stated he was under the impression that the plaque was to be presented at 1:00 p.m. and when he showed up at 12:45 p.m., it had already been presented. Vice Chair Currier said she presented the plaque to Lena Rahming. Chairman Washam thanked Dr. Beil for donating the plaque and thanked Vice Chair Currier for the presentation. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Youth in Government Day Chairman Washam said the list of Schools for Youth in Government Day is available for members to review. Chairman Washam called for a vote to set April 22, 1999 as Youth in Government Day. Motion Vice Chair Currier moved that April 22, 1999 be set as the official date for Youth in Government Day in Boynton Beach. Motion seconded by Dr. Beil. Motion unanimously carried. Chairman Washam noted that this program has been held for 27 years. Chairman Washam said it is important to make personal contact with the schools, which results in much better participation among the students and parents. Chairman Washam said he would take Santaluces High School. Vice Chair Currier informed members that they must have something in writing in order to enter the grounds of the Schools and suggested that Ms. Costello prepare something along these lines. Chairman Washam said he would contact the Education Advisory Board for their participation as well. Chairman Washam informed members that a mock Commission meeting is held in the evening. Chairman Washam said that the day begins at 7:45 a.m. in the Commission Chambers. The students meet their counterparts and have an orientation. The student will then spend the morning with their counterpart. All the students participate in preparing the agenda for the mock Commission meeting. Chairman Washam said he is very proud of this City’s Youth in Government Day. Chairman Washam said the different Board members are usually present during different portions of the day to meet the students and their counterparts. The first time to meet would be orientation at 7:45 a.m. The second time to meet would be at lunch, which is held over at the Madsen Center, and which usually takes place at 12:30 p.m. The children then go back to 5 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 10, 1999 school in the afternoon to prepare for the evening and return at night for the Commission meeting. Normally the teachers and parents are in attendance also. Dr. Beil asked how many students normally participate and was informed it was usually around 35 students. Vice Chair Currier said she would contact Lake Worth Christian School. Dr. Beil inquired of the ages of the students that participate and Chairman Washam said the students were Middle School age through Senior High School age. th Ms. Williams said at the Middle School level only 8 graders participated. Vice Chair Currier also stated that the students were graded for the day. Dr. Beil said he would take Christa McAuliffe School. Chairman Washam said he would assign the remaining two schools to Charlie Fisher and Beth Miller. B. Commissioners’ Orientation Chairman Washam said that the four “people Boards” would participate in the orientation for the new Commissioners and new Mayor. No date has been set. The Board needs to put together a fact sheet on what the Board does and some of its past achievements. It is felt by informing the Commission what the Board does, whenever there are appointments to be made, they would be informed on the type of person who would be best suited for the Board opening. Ms. Mingo-McKoy will work on preparing this. C. Youth at the Library Chairman Washam said that having these students at the Library is not a terrible event, but it does lead to other problems and something creative for the students must be sought, as well as a location for the children to go. Ms. Mingo-McKoy said the Hester Center is a youth center. Ms. Mingo-McKoy stated that the Juvenile Transition Center that is located out of the Ezell Hester Center currently has 10 functioning computers, but because it is a temporary space, the computers have not been put on line. Ms. Green stated that the voters approved the Bond Referendum last night and $200,000 is earmarked for Hester Center. The breezeway area will be enclosed with the funding and in combination with City funding of $75,000, the City will be able to create some additional storage space or additional space for the computers. Ms. Green said that she has met with A. D. Henehan at the Library and he is doing a grant for an outreach program for the Library. He is applying for a grant to get 10 additional computers to combine with the ones Ms. Mingo-McKoy has available. This would include putting the computers on line. There would be 10 computers for the Senior 6 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 10, 1999 Center, five for the Civic Center and five for the Wilson Center. Ms. Green said this st should be effective October 1. Ms. Mingo-McKoy said the problem with the youth at the Library is that there is no structure and these children are left on their own at the Library. These children need something structured to do at the Library. Chairman Washam said that controlling these children should not be the responsibility of the Librarians who are assisting citizens with checking out books. Chairman Washam said there have been occasions when the Police Department has been called in. Chairman Washam said this subject was discussed in great detail at the last Four Board Forum. Ms. Green said that the City is fully aware of the problem with the youth at the Library. Because this was given a high priority at the last Forum Meeting, Mr. Hawkins, Ms. Green and the Library Director met with 26 youth in the Civic Center and this should be considered the first day of initiating a teen club. It will be open to teens throughout the southern end of the City. Ms. Green said they are not going to do away with any programs at the Hester Center. Commissioners and several staff members were present at this meeting, as well as some Friends of the Library. The children discussed the types of field trips they would like to have and the days of the week that they would like the East Room at the Civic Center to be available to them. The East Room is being dedicated in the afternoons until 8:00 p.m., except for Tuesday. There will be another meeting with these youngsters tomorrow night at 5:00 p.m. and there are reporters interested in writing a feature story to get more children involved. Ms. Green said that the outdoor area would be used for additional activities. Ms. Green presented four pages of activities that the youth would like. Ms. Green said that there have been adults who have volunteered and any member on this Board would be welcomed to help. Ms. Green said this is being done without a budget and in the middle of the year in order to address an important priority. Ms. Green emphasized that this was a short-term solution and said this is not the “Teen Center” that some boards have discussed, but a temporary solution to give the children a place to go. Game tables will be installed in the East Room and the five computers obtained through the grant will also be installed in this room. Clyde Harris will be working with the program and Ms. Carolyn Sims and Mr. Steve Lulkin are the two staff members that will be heading it up. Ms. Green said that once the program is functioning it is anticipated that the services will be available from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The age range is from nine to 18 year olds. 7 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MARCH 10, 1999 Ms. Mingo-McKoy said that she thought 8:00 p.m. was too late during school nights. Ms. Green said that the Library is going to take the lead in doing additional educational type programs. It is not the intent to get the children out of the Library. Chairman Washam thanked Ms. Green for the information on the Library solution and noted this is something that is going to have to be continually addressed. Chairman Washam stated that the Library staff should be commended for the wonderful job that they do and it is difficult for the Library staff to maintain the discipline of these youth. Dr. Beil said that he would also take Congress Middle School for Youth in Government Day, together with Christa McAuliffe. X. ADJOURNMENT NEXT MEETING: APRIL 14, 1999 Motion Ms. Williams moved that the meeting adjourn. Motion seconded by Ms. Mingo-McKoy. The meeting properly adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 8