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Minutes 08-14-96 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1996, AT 7:30 P.M. PRESENT Ron Washam, Chairman Beth Bailey, Public Information Elizabeth Jenkins, Vice Chairperson Officer Ronald Bair Lt. Chris Yannuzzi, Police Dept. Belky Cruz Joy Currier Blanche Girtman Natalie Macon Dee Zibelli Arthur Berman, Alternate ABSENT Brenda Lee Williams I. OPENING, PLEDGE, PRAYER Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ms. Cruz, followed by a moment of silent prayer. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll. III. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS Chairman Washam welcomed Beth Bailey, Melody Green, Carolyn Sims, and Police Chief Marshall Gage to the meeting. At this time, Ms. Currier congratulated Chairman Washam on the cover of the Funfare Magazine. IV. AGENDA APPROVAL No additions, deletions, or corrections were made to the agenda. Motion Ms. Zibelli moved to approve the agenda as presented. Ms. Currier seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. V. MINUTES APPROVAL No additions, deletions, or corrections were made to the minutes of the last meeting. Motion Ms. Girtman moved to approve the minutes of the July 10, 1996 meeting. Ms. Zibelli seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS At the request of Chairman Washam, Chief Gage addressed the board. With regard to the Wrice Process, he advised that a couple of reporters had taken his comments out of context and made it sound like he wanted to get rid of the Wrice Process. Chief Gage explained that he wants to eliminate the need for the Wrice Process. He wants to get rid of the drug dealers on the street so that the members of the community do not have to go marching and yelling at them. He wants the members of the community to feel safe walking down the streets. He completely supported the Wrice Process, and anything the government or the members of the community can do to get rid of the problems in the community. He stated that as long as the members of the community want to march, the Police Department will be there to support them. Chief Gage advised that a strong effort has been made to get rid of the dealers on Martin Luther King Boulevard during the last week and a half. Reporters from Channel 12 had gone down MLK Boulevard two or three months ago. When they went back today, they were amazed and impressed with the difference they saw. Chief Gage saw a lot more commitment on the part of the community to get more involved, which is good for the entire City. He said we will go street by street to take the streets back and make them safe if that is what we have to do. Ms. Cruz asked what is being done about the prostitutes on Federal Highway between Gateway Boulevard and Martin Luther King Boulevard, and on Seacrest Boulevard between Gateway Boulevard and the Quick Stop. Chief Gage advised her of a police operation that is presently under way involving undercover officers arresting drug dealers, prostitutes, and Johns. He stated that prostitutes and drug dealers do not go away easily, MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 14, 1996 and they bring the City down. However, the Police Department is targeting them. Ms. Currier asked what is going to be done about the Bay Club. Chief Gage advised that the Bay Club has been cited about half a dozen times in the last two months. They are putting some money into revamping the club, and they claim that they are going to clean up their act. The crowd that goes there on the weekends has dramatically decreased. The owner has been put on notice that we are not going to put up with the disruption of the entire community. Chief Gage explained that when you shut down an establishment like this, it is leased to a new manager under a new name, and the problem starts all over again. The Vice Unit has been directed to take some assertive action. If the Bay Club falls under the criteria for the Nuisance Abatement, they will be brought before that board. Like with the drug dealers, every time they present a problem, the Police Department will be return. Ms. Macon asked how the police operations are done. Chief Gage informed her that this operation is being done about two or three times a month in various areas of the City. The Police Department tries to keep tabs on what kind of activity is going on and if it looks like it is picking back up, they will return. He explained that when a bunch of arrests are made, the drug dealers and prostitutes move to another neighborhood for a while and it takes the Police Department a while to find out where they went. He said the courts are not keeping them in jail, so we have to convince them to move on. Vice Chairperson Jenkins noticed the improvement on MLK Boulevard. She said she saw Chief Gage, the Public Information Officer, and Channel 12 on N.E. 1st Street today and asked what had happened. Chief Gage advised her that Channel 12 is following up on an article that was in one of the newspapers regarding lot clearing. Ms. Girtman asked about the possibility of constructing a building or utilizing an existing building to house the young drug dealers and get them off of 10th Avenue. She asked if there is a program for the youth who can be turned around. She said this is a continuous problem and our current methods are not resolving it. Chief Gage advised that every community is experiencing this problem, and he has yet to see anybody come up with a concrete solution to deal with it. He hoped our Community Patrol Officers will be able to work with some of the youth one-on-one. He said he worked with a drug rehabilitation program as a volunteer in Dade County a few years ago. It was a live in type situation. It cannot be a law enforcement program because of the relationship they have with law enforcement officials, but law enforcement officials can be brought in to work on a voluntary basis. However, you also need members of the community as the core support 3 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 14, 1996 group or mentors. Chief Gage would support a program like this and was open to suggestions. He said it is not an easy task. His goal is not to put them all in jail, but to keep them from ending up in jail the rest of their lives. The problem is getting them diverted from the drug sales into a legitimate means of making a living and getting them back on line with education. Ms. Currier inquired about the Juvenile First Offender Program. Chief Gage advised that the problem is that many of these kids are not first time offenders. Mr. Bair asked if Chief Gage plans to keep or expand the Community Policing and COP Programs. Chief Gage stated that these are great programs and he fully plans to keep them up and running. Mr. Bair stated that the patrol officers in his neighborhood have changed. Chief Gage explained that where there is no need for two officers, one of them will be assigned elsewhere. He is committed to leaving the officers in the same area for 18 months if possible, but periodically things happen and officers are switched. Ms. Cruz appreciated the increased patrol on Gateway Boulevard and N.E. 1st Court. The board thanked Chief Gage for his presentation. Chairman Washam advised him not to hesitate to return to the board if the board can help him. Chief Gage said he would be more than happy to return next month. VII. PUBLIC AUDIENCE A. Recreation & Park Department - Recreation Superintendent, Melody M. Green, Recreation Supervisor IIIs, Carolyn Sims and Virginia Halpin At this time, Ms. Halpin and Lt. Yannuzzi arrived. Ms. Green complimented Ms. Zibelli, Ms. Currier, and Ms. Cruz for their enthusiasm regarding the multi-cultural festival. She advised that the Recreation Department has had the opportunity to work with them in a supportive role. She introduced Ms. Sims and Ms. Halpin, and asked the board to let them know what they can do to help. She advised that Kay Welsh and Ginny Halpin are coordinating some ethnic and cultural art for the festival. 4 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 14, 1996 Ms. Green took this opportunity to also compliment the members of this board who helped build the playground, and she announced that the Annual Family Day Picnic is scheduled for August 17th at Boat Club Park. On behalf of the board, Chairman Washam thanked Ms. Green, Ms. Sims, and Ms. Halpin for work on this project, and expressed pride in Ms. Zibelli, Ms. Currier, and Ms. Cruz. He was proud that everyone is working together to bring the community together and the people of different backgrounds together to celebrate one another. Ms. Girtman asked how the Recreation Department gets so many people to attend their events. Ms. Green advised that Ms. Halpin excels at getting the word out to people. The Recreation Department has a mailing list of all the media and about 80 different organizations that it sends information to a minimum of once a week. Ms. Halpin stays on top of publications that are specific for one particular target group. With regard to the multi-cultural festival, Ms. Halpin advised that Ms. Zibelli, Ms. Currier, and she are trying to get one of the newspapers to sponsor us with free ads, flyers, posters, and T-shirts for the committee members and the sponsors. She stated that support from the newspaper is vital to getting the word out, and it is going to take all the board members to get the flyers out to the community. At this time, the members of the Recreation Department left the meeting. VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Multi-Cultural Festival Update - Make presentation to Commission on August 20, 1996 Ms. Zibelli advised that the next Multi-Cultural Festival Committee meeting will be held on August 15th at the library at 7:00 p.m. The Committee will also meet on August 29th, September 12th, September 26th, October 10th, and October 24th at the same time and place. The plans for the festival are going great, and we are getting great response from the City. We will be able to set up a table at the mall to hand out flyers the weekend before the festival. Volunteers will be needed to man the table. A detailed update will be given at the meeting tomorrow. Ms. Bailey was asked to reschedule the presentation to the Commission to September 4th. Ms. Currier thanked Commissioner Jamie Titcomb and Mr. Bair for all their help with the 5 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 14, 1996 multi-cultural festival. She advised that Commissioner Titcomb has saved us a few thousand dollars. Chairman Washam suggested that after the festival, a luncheon be held to acknowledge the people who have supported this project. At this time, Ms. Cruz took the opportunity to announce that the Cafe Barista, located on the 500 block of East Ocean Avenue, is holding Boynton Beach's Downtown Dancing in the Street Festival on Friday, August 6, 1996, from 6:00 p.m. through midnight. B. Progress of Boynton Beach High School Chairman Washam pointed out that it is an election year and urged everyone to continue to lobby the School District to fund the Boynton Beach High School. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion - Youth in Government Day - October 1996 For the benefit of the new members, Chairman Washam explained Youth in Government Day. He advised that last year, it was held in October to coincide with Municipal Week. The turnout last year was outstanding, and he attributed this to the Community Relations Board and Education Advisory Board working in tandem. He also contributed its success to the personal touch of going to speak to each middle and high school individually to get a commitment from them. At Chairman Washam's request, Mr. Bair volunteered to Chair the Youth in Government Day Committee and to be the liaison between this board and the Education Advisory Board. Chairman Washam will assist him, and they will meet with the Education Advisory next week to start making plans. Chairman Washam asked Ms. Bailey to find out the exact date of Municipal Week. B. Sol Festival Ms. Cruz announced that Sol, an Hispanic organization, is holding a festival and car show in Bryant Park on October 14th, and invited the members of our board to attend. 6 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 14, 1996 C. Police Department Report Lt. Yannuzzi reported that the operation on MLK Boulevard and on the 800 to 1000 block of North Federal Highway will continue for a couple more days. So far, 97 people were arrested since this operation began on August 4th. Fifty of those arrests were for felonies and 48 were for misdemeanors. Forty-nine of the 50 felony arrests were cocaine related. Eighteen arrests were marijuana related and 21 were for other crimes, such as possession of steroids, warrant arrests, prostitution, and assaults on police officers. In addition, there were 18 charges for violation of the City ordinance on open alcoholic beverage containers. As part of our zero tolerance, we are including parking tickets, warnings for motor vehicle violations, and traffic citations. Thirty-two traffic citations were issued, as well as 9 warnings and 1 parking ticket. Ms. Girtman noticed the changes that have been taking place. She asked what can be done about cars stopping in the middle of the street. Lt. Yannuzzi advised that there is a Florida Statute that deals with obstructing traffic, and that is part of the 32 citations or 9 warnings that have been issued so far. He advised that we are looking at this from a zero tolerance level and are citing every violation we see. The Department of Public Works has fully cooperated by cleaning up areas whenever we ask them to. About 12 or 15 police officers and members of other City departments ordered pizza and had lunch at Heritage Park twice. We are trying to get the message out. Lt. Yannuzzi advised that the current operation to rid the streets of drugs and prostitution will not end when the Sheriff's Office no longer provides us with assistance. We have already rescheduled personnel to maintain a permanent presence on MLK Boulevard, including the areas north and south of MLK, for as long as it takes to maintain control of that area. Ms. Girtman informed Lt. Yannuzzi that people are sitting out on the road in chairs on N.W. 6th Avenue and Seacrest Boulevard, and the area is congested. Ms. Zibelli asked if the Quick Stop is being used as an office for the bicycle officers. Lt. Yannuzzi advised that we have established a rapport with the management there, and they have given us space inside Quick Stop to use as an office. 7 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 14, 1996 Ms. Cruz informed Lt. Yannuzzi that the drug dealers have moved from MLK Boulevard to Gateway Boulevard, especially near the vacant house that the CDC is supposed to be taking over. Lt. Yannuzzi announced that the next Wrice march will be this Friday at 8:00 p.m. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m. Eve Eubanks Recording Secretary (One Tape) 8