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Minutes 07-13-95 MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1995, AT 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Angela Girtman, Chairwoman Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant to Dr. Floyd Beil the City Manager Judy Moss Shanna St. John Helen Voelxen, Alternate ABSENT Dr. Edwin Cordero Jayne Fail Denise Panton Lee Kupperman, Alternate Chanelle Bowdry, Student I. CALL TO ORDER Chairwoman Girtman called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. II. MOMENT OF SILENT PRAYER A moment of silent prayer was observed. III. AGENDA APPROVAL Motion Ms. Moss moved to approve the agenda. Ms. St. John seconded the motion which carried unanimously. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL Motion Ms. St. John moved to approve the minutes of the May 25, 1995 meeting. Ms. Moss seconded the motion which carried unanimously. V. PUBLIC AUDIENCE A. Presentation - Harmony (15 minute video) Ms. St. John invited Lourdes Leahy and Dennis Thompson from Harmony, a group that promotes multi-racial and multi-cultural awarenesss. She felt Harmony would be a great theme for the Youth Expo this year. Ms. Leahy advised that Harmony is a nonprofit organization which began as a forum for inter-racial couples, families, multi-racial individuals, and trans-racial adopted families. However, as time progressed, Harmony has grown as a group and more and more individuals have joined this group simply because they too believe in the oneness of the human race. In Harmony, children and adults get together, regardless of their race, beliefs, or social status, and have constructive discussions on racial issues. As a result of these discussions, Harmony has dedicated this fiscal year to educating the community on racism and, most importantly, working on solutions. At this time, a video titled, "Calling All Colors" was shown. Mr. Thompson stated that the purpose of Harmony is to make the whole community aware. He stated that he enjoys working with the youth to prepare them for the future. Ms. St. John felt it would be wonderful to try to incorporate some of these ideas into the Youth Expo. Chairwoman Girtman advised Ms. Leahy and Mr. Thompson that last year was the first time the board sponsored a youth expo and explained to them the activities that took place at the Youth Expo last year. With regard to this year's expo, Ms. Leahy suggested having a drawing contest, the theme of which is the solution for racial unity. A collage of the drawings could be displayed in the mall. She also suggested having storytellers from different ethnic backgrounds and dance groups representing different cultures. Ms. St. John suggested a photo, essay and art contest using a multi-cultural theme. In response to Ms. Moss, Chairwoman Girtman advised that last year, the board contacted the schools that the children of Boynton Beach attend, and invited them to MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 13, 1995 participate in the Youth Expo. She stated that timing is the key to getting the schools to participate. In response to Ms. Voelxen, Mr. Hawkins advised that last year, the schools were visited once or twice, but they were mainly contacted by telephone and mail. Ms. St. John suggested that the members of the board visit the schools in person. Mr. Thompson advised that the board would have to contact the School Board to get permission to contact the principals. He agreed with Ms. St. John that the members of the board should talk to principals in person. Ms. St. John suggested asking the children to send in a picture of themselves or their families to display on a collage at the board's booth or at the City. She also suggested that this not be limited to the children in Boynton Beach. Chairwoman Girtman will contact the mall to see what dates are available for the Youth Expo this year. Once the mall gives her a date, the board can contact the schools. She will try to reserve the weekend before or after Thanksgiving. Ms. St. John volunteered to call some storytellers. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Election of Officers Angela Girtman opened the floor for nominations for Chair of the Board. Ms. St. John nominated Angela Girtman as Chair. Ms. Moss seconded the motion. No other nominations were made and Angela Girtman was unanimously elected Chairwoman. Chairwoman Girtman opened the floor for nominations for Vice Chair of the Board. Ms. Moss nominated Ms. St. John. No other nominations were made and Ms. St. John was unanimously elected Vice Chair. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS None. 3 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 13, 1995 VIII. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS A. The Wrice Process Mr. Hawkins advised that Dr. Herman Wrice will be arriving in Boynton Beach on July 19th. He will be here until July 21st to conduct a public seminar and organize the communities and show them how to fight crime and drugs in their neighborhoods. Everyone is invited to attend. The first session starts at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday. The session on Thursday starts at 10:00 a.m. On Friday, the session will start at 9:00 a.m. All sessions will be held in the Commission Chambers. On Thursday, July 20th, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a drug rally and march in several neighborhoods. Transportation will be provided. Mr. Hawkins said this is a City-wide effort and he encouraged all communities to participate. He also advised that this will be an ongoing program. Dr. Wrice will revisit Boynton Beach periodically over the next six months. He said the City is committed to this process; however, it is a community- driven initiative. B. Goals Dr. Feil felt the board is focusing only on the Youth Expo and that there are a lot of other things the board can do. He suggested that throughout the next month, each member write down the issues that they would like the board to face. He is interested in drug awareness. He is also interested in the Adopt-A-Grandparent Program and is going to do as much research as he can this month to find out what communities have that program and how one can be started in Boynton Beach. He said he would appreciate it if anyone could help him with this project. Ms. Voexlen advised that some schools have Grandparents' Day, but some of the students do not have any grandparents, and many people do not have any grandchildren. She suggested letting the children adopt a grandparent. Her idea of a grandparent is someone who works with children and teaches them knitting, art, or games and not someone who takes the children places and gives them gifts. She said she has access to a lot of grandparents and would like to get the senior citizens involved in doing volunteer work in the schools. Dr. Beil and Ms. Voexlen will work on this goal together. 4 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 13, 1995 Dr. Beil stated that he used to be a Big Brother and it is a commitment, not just a once a year thing. He said he has seen the positive changes it has made in the kids who do not have an adult father or mother figure. Chairwoman Girtman suggested including inter-generational harmony in the Youth Expo. Prior to the Expo, a reception could be held at which time a child and a grandparent could be matched up. When these relationships are established, the children and adopted grandparents could participate in the Youth Expo. Chairwoman Girtman asked the members to bring the goals they would like to accomplish to the attention of the board. The board as a whole can then decide which goals to work on. Dr. Beil pointed out that the Chairwoman Girtman previously expressed a desire to put a band together. Chairwoman Girtman said she still would like to have a city-wide orchestra of children if someone can be found to conduct it on a voluntary basis. Ms. St. John stated that maybe one of the senior citizens can do it. Ms. Voexlen lives in Leisureville and said many of the senior citizens who live there have talent. Dr. Beil would like to see this board represented at as many City functions as possible. He said the board could set up a table to let people know of its existence. He stated that the people in the community need to attend the board meetings to let the board know how we can help them. Ms. St. John said she recently attended a Mom's Club meeting in Boynton Beach and they did not know there were advisory boards. She wrote a letter for their newsletlter and gave them a list of the different advisory boards and an application to put in the newsletter. She also invited them to the meeting. Mr. Voexlen is going to put an advertisement in the Leisureville paper in September. Ms. Moss stated that there are some members on this board who she has never seen since. She inquired about the student member. Chairwoman Girtman advised that the student member's term expired in May; however, she resubmitted her application. If she is reappointed, she will be back on the board at the next meeting. 5 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 13, 1995 C. Tour of Park Facilities Chairwoman Girtman was unable to go on the tour of the park facilities last month. She stated that the purpose of that tour was to note the condition of the playgrounds to see if there was anything that needed to be brought to the attention of the City Commission. Ms. St. John reported that some of the playgrounds had extremely old equipment that was rusty and dangerous and there was no lighting at most of them. She said there were a bunch of kids playing football in the field of one of the parks. She felt the parks that are being utilized should be worked on first. She will prepare a report of what she noticed during the tour and bring it to the board at the next meeting. Ms. St. John said Hester Center is incredible but people do not utilize it because they are afraid to go there. Chairwoman Girtman stated that Hester Center is usually well utilized and that the people who are not going there are missing out. Dr. Beil said he has been there at night and it is packed. He advised that it is well supervised. Ms. St. John said we need to show those people who are not going to Hester Center that it is safe. She suggested having guided tours of that facility. Chairwoman Girtman stated that when Hester Center first opened, they had an open house and a grand opening because the City was concerned that it would not be utilitized because of its location. Mr. Hawkins said a tour can be arranged if Ms. St. John gets a group together. He advised her to contact his office or the Director of Hester Center. He advised that this would be a good time to visit Hester Center because the summer camp programs are filled to the maximum and the kids are having a good time. Various people are in those programs and they are going surprisingly well. He advised that Palm Beach Atlantic College uses the baseball field at Hester Center. In addition, an older female soccor league plays there and enjoys it. Chairwoman Girtman stated that maybe the problem is with individuals going there for a dance or drama class, but many sports organizations use Hester Center and many teams practice there. Chairwoman Girtman advised that the next regular meeting date is August 24th. She reminded the members to bring in a list of any projects they would like the board to work on, in addition to any concerns they have about any of the parks they visited on the tour last month. 6 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 13, 1995 Ms. Voexlen advised that she might be out of town on August 24th. Therefore, she may not be at that meeting. IX. NEW BUSINESS None. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Eve Eubanks Recording Secretary (One Tape) 7