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Minutes 01-14-98 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1998, AT 7:30 P.M. PRESENT Ron Washam, Chairman Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant to the Maynie Boles City Manager Belky Cruz Blanche Girtman Brenda Lee Williams ABSENT Arthur Berman I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. II. OPENING, PLEDGE, PRAYER The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by Ms. Williams, after which a moment of silent prayer was observed. At this time, the Recording Secretary called the roll. III. AGENDA APPROVAL Ms. Girtman added “Absence of Police Protection in the North End” under Item IX (New Business). Motion Ms. Williams moved to approve the agenda as amended. Ms. Girtman seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. IV. APPROVE MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 10, 1997 No additions, deletions, or corrections were made to the minutes of the last meeting. MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 14, 1998 Motion Ms. Girtman moved to approve the minutes of the December 10, 1997 meeting as submitted. Ms. Williams seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. V. PRESENTATIONS None. VI. ANNOUNCEMENTS A. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Candlelight March Ms. Girtman announced that the Candlelight March will start at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, th January 19. After the march, breakfast will be served at Poinciana Elementary School at a charge of $4.00 per person, followed by a program. B. Pancake Breakfast at Royal Palm School Chairman Washam announced that Royal Palm School is having a pancake breakfast th on January 25 from 8:00 a.m. to noon. There will be a charge of $3.00 for the breakfast. He urged everyone to attend. C. Open Advisory Boards Forum Chairman Washam announced that the next Open Advisory Boards Forum will be held st on January 31 at City Hall in the Mall from 11:00 a.m. to noon. He advised that he and Ms. Williams attended the last forum and it was informative. Ideas were exchanged and everyone understood a little better what the other boards were doing. Also, public input was welcomed. He urged the members of the board to attend this forum. He advised that this board has tentatively agreed to host the next forum. D. Boynton Beach Citizens’ Police Academy Mr. Hawkins announced that the next Boynton Beach Citizens’ Police Academy starts th on February 18. If anyone is interested in attending, they should call Officer Louis Zeitinger at 375-6175 to register. 2 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 14, 1998 E. Boynton Beach City Staff Directors Available at City Hall in the Mall Mr. Hawkins announced that the City instituted a program where the department heads will be available at City Hall in the Mall on Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to meet the public and answer questions in an effort to extend government closer to the people and put faces to names. He encouraged everyone to go to City Hall in the Mall to meet the department heads and ask questions. VII. PUBLIC AUDIENCE At Chairman Washam’s request, Eric Schnetzer, a resident of the City, introduced himself. VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chairman Washam advised that the board has five vacancies. He has asked a couple of people to submit applications to join this board. He stated that it is imperative to fill these positions within the next month with people who are committed and believe in what this board stands for. He urged the members to actively campaign to get some people who are going to be able to do the job that the board was asked to do. He was grateful for the support and time of the current members. He pointed out that some very important issues are going to be coming up over the next few years and it is imperative that this board fill at least all its regular vacancies. He pointed out that the people in the community need a voice and this board is their voice. Ms. Girtman suggested trying to recruit members by holding the board’s meetings in the community instead of City Hall. Ms. Cruz suggested advertising the vacancies in the Boynton Times. Chairman Washam would rather hold the board meetings in the community when there is a full board. Ms. Williams stated that this board was originally established to be a liaison between the communities to quail any uprisings. Since there are no big issues or common goals, people have not been interested in the board. Ms. Cruz disagreed with Ms. Williams. She said people from Village Royale and Gateway complain to her about community problems. Some of them are seniors and do not want to go out at night because of the crime situation. 3 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 14, 1998 Ms. Williams pointed out that you cannot clean up something unless you get your hands dirty, and nobody wants to get their hands dirty. Complaining does not get the job done. When people complain to her about something, she asks them what they are doing to help rectify the situation. Chairman Washam agreed with Ms. Williams that when everything is going smoothly, people do not come to the board. However, when there is a paramount issue, the people show up. Ms. Williams advised that a lot of issues are being handled through the Community Forum instead of this board. She stopped going to the Community Forum meetings because the same things are talked about over and over again. She felt things are moving too slow; therefore, people are getting apathetic. She stated that there is a big upheaval in the Police Department because a lot of people are taking advantage of the Early Incentive Retirement Program. She felt this is why we do not have any police officers in our neighborhoods. From what he has heard so far, Mr. Hawkins felt we have to do a better job of getting the word out about what is really going on. He advised that the Police Department is not short of manpower. Four sergeants have already been promoted, four lieutenants are going to be promoted next week, and we are hiring new people. He pointed out that the Fire Department has recently hired approximately 11 people. Since there is a perception or a concern that police officers are not in the community, he suggested that a police officer start attending the board’s meetings again to address the board’s concerns. He also suggested inviting Police Chief Marshall Gage back to the board so that he can give an update on what is going on in the Police Department. Ms. Williams suggested that this type of information be printed in the newsletter. She pointed out that some people work from 8 to 5 or 9 to 6 and cannot go to City Hall in the Mall to meet the department heads. Mr. Hawkins advised that some of the things he mentioned are going to be printed in the next newsletter, which will be coming out the end of this month. He urged everyone to read the newsletter when they receive it. Ms. Cruz stated that there is no community policing in her area. Mr. Hawkins pointed out that community policing means different things to different people. Some people want to see a police officer walking down their street or driving down their street every 4 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 14, 1998 two hours. Others want police officers running special programs in their community. Ms. Cruz’ definition of community policing is an officer who relates to the community and stops by to introduce himself when he is assigned to an area. Ms. Girtman mentioned the Cherry Hill section. Mr. Hawkins advised that Officer John Peters is assigned to Cherry Hill through a HUD grant and he is working with that community. He pointed out that there has always been a police officer assigned to that area because it is targeted for some well-needed improvements. He suggested that the board invite people to the next meeting to hear Chief Gage speak. Chairman Washam reiterated the importance of recruiting other board members. He pointed out that the purpose of this board is to bridge the gap between City Hall and the community and to make life better in this community. He stated that we need to fill the vacancies on the board with dedicated people before filling the audience. He felt this should be a paramount issue of this board in the next month. He stated that there are some issues that we need to bring to the light of day and if we cannot fill the vacancies, we will not be able to tackle the big issues that are laid before us. Mr. Hawkins suggested that if the board invites people to their next meeting to hear Chief Gage speak, they might be able to recruit new members from those people. With regard to Visions 20/20, Mr. Hawkins stated that the City is about three or four months away from starting its metamorphosis and is on the cusp of changing. Some critical issues are coming up and decisions about the future of this City are going to have to be made. Specific things are going to happen over the next 20 years and the people are going to be asked to put up dollars to make those things happen. The talk is just about over. We almost have all the community input we were seeking. In the next three or four months, the consultants and City staff are going to make some strong recommendations to the Commission and the public. Ocean Avenue is going to be redesigned. We are looking at doing some extra things with Boynton Beach Boulevard. Federal Highway is currently under construction. In the next three or four months, there is going to be some major unveiling of how the future of Boynton is going to look. In a couple of months, you are going to be asked to talk about what is really going to happen. You are going to have some things to sink your teeth into. For example, there are going to be workshops in February, March, April and May, at which the consultants are going to present visual plans on Ocean Avenue, the marina area, Boynton Beach Boulevard, and the City Center. He stated that everyone is busy but if they are really concerned about their City, they are going to have to start coming to some of these meetings. In a few months you are going to be asked to start thinking about how much 5 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 14, 1998 you are willing to spend to make these things happen. As leaders of the community, the members of this board need to start paying close attention and start coming to some of the City Commission and Community Forum meetings and ask questions of people like himself. The ball is getting ready to roll real fast within the next three months. This year is going to be critical to the City of Boynton Beach. Ms. Cruz inquired about the plans for Gateway Boulevard. Mr. Hawkins advised that Gateway is in the process of being designed by the consultants. Ms. Girtman inquired about the plans for Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Mr. Hawkins advised that that is one of the plans that is going to be unveiled at one of the workshops. Ms. Williams asked how these workshops are going to be advertised. Mr. Hawkins advised that many times they are announced at Commission meetings, advertised in the newspapers, and flyers are distributed. He pointed out the police Department passed out flyers door to door in Ms. Cruz’ community regarding a meeting and only four people from that community attended. Mr. Hawkins advised that there is going to be a major change in the Gateway area. Ms. Girtman stated that they are widening that road. Mr. Hawkins advised that at the end of Gateway Boulevard, there is a vacant area called the Intracoastal Park site. That is going to be a major park and is going to have an affect on Gateway Boulevard because in order to get to that park site, you are going to have to go through Gateway or Federal Highway. That park is not just for local people. He pointed out that Boat Ramp Park gets very crowded on the weekend because people come all the way from Ft. Lauderdale to launch their boats from there. Mr. Girtman asked where the lake is going to be located. Mr. Hawkins advised that one of the issues with Gateway Boulevard is the drainage. We are looking at different scenarios of how to handle the drainage. We have looked at different sites along there to hold water. We met with Village Royale to talk to them about a project. We are looking at how to construct a site along Gateway to hold the retention area. We are meeting with the consultants Friday in order to come up with some concrete suggestions on the location of the water retention area and we plan to talk to the community about the final plans. Ms. Girtman pointed out that many parents have to work two jobs and it is almost impossible for them to attend meetings. She also pointed out that sometimes she 6 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 14, 1998 cannot attend meetings because she runs a business and sometimes works until after 6:00 p.m. Mr. Hawkins stated that we are developing a community outreach program and he and/or the Neighborhood Specialist will go to the people. If the board gets a group of people together in a residence, neighborhood, business, church, or school, the City will send someone to talk to them. He would like this board to be informed enough about things so that they could talk to groups of people. Ms. Cruz would like flyers printed in Spanish and Creole in order to reach everybody. Mr. Hawkins advised that the Code Compliance Division hired a Haitian gentleman who is fluent in Creole and a person who is fluent in Spanish as Code Compliance Officers. We are going to have the ability to translate information and we are going to have people going from door to door talking to people. We are trying to do what we can to facilitate communicating with the public. He advised the members to call him if they have questions or are concerned about something. He would like this board to be informed in order to help get the word out to the people. Ms. Girtman asked if it could be publicized in the newspaper that Chief Gage will be speaking at the next meeting. Mr. Hawkins answered affirmatively. At this time, Chairman Washam welcomed Vice Mayor Jamie Titcomb to the meeting. Chairman Washam advised the members that they can request specific people to come to the board meetings to speak. In addition, they can call the City Manager’s Office to put items on the agenda. At the board’s request, Mr. Hawkins will contact Chief Gage tomorrow and ask him to attend the next board meeting. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Absence of Police Protection in the North End stthth Ms. Girtman spoke of the absence of police protection on 1, 6, and 17 Avenues, Seacrest Boulevard, and around the Rainbow City Grocery and the Treasure Chest School. She stated that there are arguments and fights when the children get off the school buses near the Treasure Chest School. She also advised that the traffic on Federal Highway is not stopping when school buses stop to load and unload children. 7 MEETING MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JANUARY 14, 1998 Mr. Hawkins pointed out that this is probably occurring because people are used to having the medians there; however, they are torn out right now. Ms. Girtman thanked Code Compliance and Public Works for the tremendous improvement in the yards and trash and garbage pickup. She also thanked the Police Department for lowering the speed limit on Seacrest Boulevard and posting warning signs about the curves in the road. She stated that Willie Webb of Code Compliance has done a fantastic job educating the people in the neighborhood about the new cart program. Mr. Hawkins advised that if this program works well, it may be expanded to other areas. In addition, with the cooperation of the Police Department, we are getting ready to do a major crackdown on illegal dumping. Ms. Cruz mentioned that there is a problem with dumping by the Lord’s Place. Mr. Hawkins advised everyone that if they see anyone dumping illegally to call the police because that is a criminal violation. Ms. Cruz commended Code Compliance Administrator Scott Blasie for the improvement in the Gateway area. Chairman Washam pointed out that in order to plan for Youth in Government Day and the Multi-Cultural Festival, we need a full board. Ms. Williams asked if the City of Boynton Beach has a residency requirement for its department heads. Mr. Hawkins stated that the City does not have an official policy. Many of the new department heads have been asked to reside within the City; however, they are not being forced to do so. Ms. Cruz pointed out that someone who lives outside the City would not know the problems that this community is facing. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, Ms. Girtman moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m. Ms. Williams seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Eve Eubanks Recording Secretary (Two Tapes) 8