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Minutes 04-08-98 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998 AT 7:30 P.M. PRESENT Ron Washam, Chairman Hank Ackermann, Neighborhood Joy Currier Project Specialist Belky Cruz Eric Schnetzer Brenda Lee Williams ABSENT Arthur Berman Maynie L. Boles Blanche Girtman Harold Izard I. OPENING, PLEDGE, PRAYER Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. Eric Schnetzer led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and a moment of silent prayer followed. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll and a quorum was declared present. III. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS Chairman Washam acknowledged Dave Brogan from Royal Palm School who was in the audience and welcomed him to the meeting. IV. AGENDA APPROVAL Chairman Washam requested that under new business the following items be added to the agenda: th B. Neighborhood Crime Watch Meeting in south end on April 17 7:30 p.m. to take place at the home of Ronald Bair, 2998 S.E. First Place C. Multi-Cultural Festival MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 8, 1998 Motion Eric Schnetzer moved that the agenda, as amended, be approved. Motion seconded by Belky Cruz and carried 5-0. V. MINUTES APPROVAL Joy Currier moved that the Minutes of the March 11, 1998 Meeting be approved. Motion seconded by Eric Schnetzer and carried 5-0. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Cruz informed the meeting that the boys from the PAL of Hester Park are in the Florida finals. If they win, they will move up to the national finals. Joy Currier also stated that the cost of sending the team to the finals was funded through a raffle of 2,000 tickets. thth Chairman Washam stated that on April 19, Royal Palm School will celebrate its 10 anniversary at its present location on Lawrence Road. There will be an anniversary party at the school beginning at 2:00 p.m. and all members of the Community Relations Board are cordially invited to attend. The Board offers its deepest sympathy to Board Member, Blanche Girtman on the recent loss of her dear sister. VII. PUBLIC AUDIENCE NONE VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None IX. NEW BUSINESS Summit in City Hall in the Mall . AMs. Williams commented on the actual date of the Summit that is scheduled for April 18, 1998 in the City Hall in the Mall. There seems to be some confusion. Mr. Schnetzer stated that the Summit had originally thth been scheduled for April 25, but was rescheduled last month to April 18. It was further brought to the Board’s attention that Ms. St. John, the Chair 2 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 8, 1998 of the Advisory Board on Children and Youth also notified her Committee th that the Summit was on the 18. However, no actual time for the summit has been set. After discussion it was determined that the Summit will be th City Hall in the Mall on Saturday, April 18 from noon until 2:00 at p.m. Chairman Washam stated he will confirm the date and time with Ms. St. John and if there is a conflict, the members will be notified. Discussion ensued regarding refreshments to be served at the Summit. Each member agreed to bring a few items to the Summit. It was determined to meet at the City Hall in the Mall at 11:00 a.m. in order to prepare the room for the meeting. The matter of an agenda for the Summit was discussed. Chairman Washam stated that the City had prepared an Agenda for previous Summits. Chairman Washam thought an open discussion forum would be more appropriate between the four participating Boards. Chairman Washam further thought it was important for the Boards to determine how they can assist each other to better serve the community. There should be particular emphasis with helping the Senior Advisory Board to get their senior center plans going. The Summit is about four Boards coming together to make things happen by working together. YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT DAY – APRIL 30, 1998 B. Chairman Washam stated that the Youth in Government Day would be traditionally held on the fifth Thursday in the month of April with a mock youth City Commission Meeting in the evening. There will be volunteers going to different schools. If anyone on this Board would like to visit one of the schools, you are welcomed to attend. Chairman Washam commended the City staff on the wonderful job they provide in setting up this Day. Chairman Washam also stated that orientation takes place in the Commission Chambers in City Hall at 8:00 a.m. There is a luncheon at 12:30 at the Madsen Center, and at 7:15 p.m. that evening, a mock City Commission meeting will take place. BEAUTIFUL PALM BEACHES, SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1998 Hank Ackermann, Neighborhood Project Specialist was introduced to the meeting. Mr. Ackermann informed the Board that on Saturday, April 18, 1998 the Beautiful Palm Beaches Clean up will take place throughout the County and Boynton Beach will be participating. Over 300 letters were 3 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 8, 1998 sent to the various businesses for their participation. There are a number of projects in the City that hopefully can be accomplished on that day, provided enough volunteers show up. Mr. Ackermann stated that some of the anticipated projects are overwhelming. Scott Blasie and I went out today to check some of the alleys in the Ridgewood Hills Area. Mr. Ackermann stated that there are alleys that go through 4 to 5 blocks and the brush and debris in these alleys need to be cleaned out. Neighborhoods are responsible for maintaining these areas; some do a good job and some do nothing. Mr. Ackermann also stated there would be volunteers from the Fire Department in that area, painting fire hydrants, putting numbers on houses, and doing a general clean up. Mr. Ackermann also stated there were several other properties that needed cleaning in this area. There was discussion regarding the different events that have been th scheduled for Saturday, April 18 throughout the City. These include the Summit at the Mall, the Beautiful Palm Beaches Clean up and the Mildred Walker luncheon. Also that weekend the track and field events will be taking place in the City. There will also be a clean up at the Lake Worth Lagoon from Boat Club Park. The Hester Center has been targeted as the “big scrub area” and there are approximately twenty-five employees from Kinko’s that will be participating in this event with the assistance of Stella Rossi and John Wildner. Mr. Ackermann also stated the following clean ups will take place: some landscaping at the intersection of Boynton Beach Blvd., at the interchange of I-95; Woodbright and Gateway Interchanges have been targeted for clean up; and City garbage trucks will be out that day picking up large trash piles, tires and other debris. The event time is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Registration will begin at the Civic Center at 7:30 a.m. Everyone who participates will be receiving a tee shirt from Beautiful Palm Beaches. Also the event is sponsored in part by Glad Bags and is designated the Glad Bagathon. They also supply the bags for trash pickup. Also on that same day in the afternoon at the Hester Center, a youth crime prevention program will kick-off. This is a non-profit group that will be meeting at the Hester Center. Mr. Ackermann believed the time of this meeting would be after 2:00 p.m. This group will be meeting at the Hester Center on a regular basis to assist teenagers. 4 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 8, 1998 NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WATCH MEETING – APRIL 17, 1998 B. Chairman Washam announced there would be a Neighborhood Crime th Friday, April 17 at 2898 SE First Place, which is at Watch Meeting on th the intersection of S.E. First Place and S.E. 28 Avenue, which is Ron Bair’s home, at 7:30 p.m. Hank Ackermann handed out flyers for the event, and Chairman Washam informed the members that Chief Gage from the Police Department would be present. Chairman Washam stated that he just received this information on Monday night and said that residents were having difficulties in the south end of this neighborhood. This is a community problem that involves drugs, violence and burglaries. The situation is now escalating thus the urgency of the meeting. The area is comprised of many new people moving into the area; older persons who have lived in this neighborhood for years; and a great amount of family people who feel that their needs have been neglected. The families feel there is not enough parks or places where their children can go for recreation in the area, and the possibility exists of a racial problem surfacing. Chairperson Washam further stated that the purpose of the meeting was to get everyone in the neighborhood involved so that the issues can be focused on. The big problem with this neighborhood is crime; there is gang activity here, and residents are on edge. The purpose of this Board when it was formed over thirty years ago was to help in these kinds of situations. It is important that these residents be told that the City and the Commission does care, and this Board is here because we care. It is also important to determine the types of problems that exist in the neighborhoods so that help can be offered. Ms. Cruz stated that we should invite members from other Neighborhood Watch Groups so that these residents will know that these same problems have been resolved in other areas of the City. Mr. Ackermann stated he would send the flyer out to other Neighborhood Watch Groups to invite them to attend this meeting. There are also churches that are being invited to participate. Ms. Cruz stated that the notices sent out in this area should be sent in other languages for the new residents, which should include Creole and Spanish, as well as English. Mr. Ackermann stated Ron Bair prepared the flyer. Chairman Washam said he would contact Ron Bair and determine if he could prepare the flyer in Creole and Spanish. This meeting was the result of Ron Bair appearing before the 5 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 8, 1998 th Commissioners at their Tuesday, April 7 meeting and seeking their assistance. It is important that this Board remain proactive in these types of areas and in these situations. Ms. Cruz stated that situations like the present one were the result of the community policing and neighborhood watch officers being taken out of these areas. When the officers were visible in the community, crime went down. Ms. Cruz stated that as soon as these officers were taken out of the neighborhoods, crime went back up. It is essential that community policing be put back into all areas in the City. Discussion ensued on whether it would be beneficial to ask Chief Gage to attend a future meeting in order that this Board’s concerns can be addressed with regard to community policing. Ms. Williams pointed out that it takes several months before new police officers can be trained and that there are no “quick fixes” to the community policing shortage. Ms. Williams further stated that over 20 police officers retired in December. Hank Ackermann also said that he heard Chief Gage on many occasions discuss the community policing situation. Mr. Ackermann believes that the concept is that in order for an officer to become a well-rounded police officer, they are required to spend certain amounts of time in certain areas, performing certain duties, and then move onto other areas. However, Ms. Williams stated that the rotation of officers was not at issue, but the issue was that once an officer is rotated, there is no other officer to fill the vacancy created. There was discussion on whether to ask Chief Gage to come back to address a future Community Relations Board meeting regarding the community policing issue and the resources that will be expended for this community policing. Motion Belky Cruz moved that this Board invite Police Chief Gage to the May 13, 1998 meeting to address community-policing issues. Motion seconded by Eric Schnetzer and carried 5-0. 6 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 8, 1998 C. MULTI CULTURAL FESTIVAL Ms. Cruz inquired as to the status of the festival and stated she would like the festival to occur, but it is going to require a great deal of effort on the part of many people. Ms. Cruz said that in the past she was in charge of the entire festival, which is too much for one person to handle. More assistance will be needed this time. Discussion ensued as to whether or not the festival should be a commitment of this Board. Chairman Washam pointed out that there is not much time left in the year to schedule this event. The size and type of the festival was discussed. If the corporate sponsor route was utilized again this year, it takes a great deal of time and effort on everyone’s part. Ms. Williams proposed that the festival issue be presented at the Summit in the Mall and solicit the assistance of other Boards’ members. Chairman Washam pointed out that it would be beneficial if a committee could be formed at the Summit that would be in charge of making the Festival a reality. Ms. Williams asked Mr. Ackermann what is happening in the north end and are there new projects being considered in that area. Mr. Ackermann stated that the next project that the City will be involved in would be on Ocean Parkway to repair the medians and the planting of trees. Chairman Washam announced that the Community Redevelopment Agency Workshop would be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Library Program Room on Thursday, April 9th. Chairman Washam also stated that he has been attending various high school committee meetings in order to keep this Board up-to-date on the progress of the construction of the new high school and gave a brief report. It is anticipated that the groundbreaking for the high school will take place in March of 1999, with students and staff being scheduled in the new school by 2001. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before this Board, Ms. Williams moved that the meeting be adjourned. Motion seconded by Eric Schnetzer and carried 5-0. 7 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 8, 1998 Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, __________________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (one tape) 8