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Minutes 08-24-95 MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1995, AT 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Angela Girtman, Chairperson Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant to the Shanna St. John, Vice Chairperson City Manager Dr. Floyd Beil Judy Moss Denis Panton Keturah Lee, Student ABSENT Dr. Edwin Cordero Helen Voelxen, Alternate I. CALL TO ORDER In the absence of Chairperson Girtman, Vice Chairperson St. John called the meeting to order at 7:12 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 as presented. Dr. Beil seconded the motion which carried unanimously. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL Motion Ms. Moss moved to approve the minutes of the July 13, 1995 meeting as submitted. Dr. Beil seconded the motion which carried unanimously. MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 24, 1995 V. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Youth Expo Vice Chairperson St. John asked Mr. Hawkins if a date has been set for the Youth Expo. Mr. Hawkins did not know. Vice Chairperson St. John said she spoke to Chairperson Girtman who told her that she was going to aim for the weekend before Thanksgiving because the Boynton Beach Mall will not allow anything after Thanksgiving. At this time, Chairperson Girtman arrived at the meeting. She stated that Mr. Hawkins referred her to Roy Fraker, who is interested in holding a youth fair similar to the one the Board sponsored last year, to raise money for the Leathers Playground. He would like to combine efforts and hold it in conjunction with the Board's Youth Expo. However, he was considering charging the participants $150.00 for booth space. The Mall usually charges $500.00 per booth, so this would be a hugh cost savings. Chairperson Girtman said Mr. Fraker was advised by a representative of the Mall that they did not want to have anything between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mr. Fraker is still interested in having a Youth Fair; however, he was not prepared to do it successfully the week before Thanksgiving. He was willing to do something with the Board in the New Year. Chairperson Girtman would like the Board to work together with the Playground Committee to help raise funds for the playground. She asked the members of the Board for their opinions. Dr. Beil did not like the idea of the Board being involved in charging for space. However, he felt this would be a good opportunity for the Board to back off as the primary sponsor of the Youth Expo and focus on other issues. He pointed out that the City has taken over other projects which were started by this Board. He felt the Board should support and assist the Playground Committee in their endeavors to hold the Youth Expo in January. He did not think there was enough time to prepare for the Youth Expo by Thanksgiving. Vice Chairperson St. John stated that this Board voted to hold the Youth Expo 2 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 24, 1995 annually. She wondered if the Playground Committee would be willing to sponsor the Youth Expo every year. Dr. Beil stated that if the Playground Committee does not want to do it next year, we can find someone else to do it. Vice Chairperson St. John expressed concern about the focus of the Youth Expo being lost. She did not want the Youth Expo to be turned into a commercial event. Dr. Beil assumed that the Playground Committee's focus is on children. Chairperson Girtman said their focus is to raise money for the playground. They are going to do this by showcasing activities available to young people. Vice Chairperson St. John felt they should stick with the art and photo contests. Chairperson Girtman agreed. She suggested that the Board participate in the Youth Expo by bringing in the charitable organizations and not for profits that have the Crisis Line and Teen Line. She also suggested inviting the Education Advisory Board to assist us again with the academic portion of the Youth Expo. Chairperson Girtman suggested tabling this item and inviting Mr. Fraker to the next meeting to discuss his ideas and the Board's concerns. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS None. VIII. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Chairperson Girtman stated that at the last meeting, she asked the members to bring the items that they would like to address to the Board. Dr. Beil would like the Board to work with the City to set up a hotline number to let people know what events are going on in the City, and when and where they will occur. He would also like to work on starting a City band, which is one of Chairperson Girtman's goals. He stated that the Board could raise funds to start some of these projects. He would like the Board to become more active in community affairs. He wanted to inform people of the existence of this Board. He suggested the members of this Board to attend other City board meetings to find out what they are working on and perhaps coordinate efforts with them. He would also like to work more with the Recreation Department and set up a chorus, drama, and dance group. He intends to work on an Adopt-A-Grandparent Program this month. He would like to set up some more drug and alcohol related meetings for the children in the area, such as Alateen, at 3 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 24, 1995 Ezell Hester Center or the Art Center. He will find out if there already is a local group. Ms. Moss asked if there is a local Crisis Line for children and teenagers. Ms. Lee advised that the schools have passed out a teen hotline number for teens if they have any problems. There is also a homework hotline number. At this time, Chairperson Girtman introduced Ms. Lee. Ms. Lee stated that she is a senior at Atlantic High School and told of her desire to help her community. The members of the Board welcomed her. Vice Chairperson St. John shared two articles that were in the newspaper today. One regarded a task force that was formed by HRS to strengthen the children's protection system. They need more money to hire additional social workers. She suggested the Board write a letter to the members of the County's Legislative Delegation in their support. The other article pertained to a program called "Our Community, Our Children" in Juno Beach. She suggested the Board look into bringing this program to the City of Boynton Beach. Ms. Lee stated that she participated in an anti-drug march and expressed concern about the children who are growing up in that kind of an environment. She wondered if the Board could do something for them, i.e., set up activities, or have someone talk to them about how bad drugs are. She suggested it be made interesting and fun. Chairperson Girtman said there used to be a "Self Esteem Project" which met on a regular basis for teenagers; however, it never really got off the ground. It was funded for a year. During that year, they were supposed to find a parent organization that would be willing to continue to run it after the funding ran out. That did not happen. She will try to find out from the Police Department if anything similar to this program exists. Chairperson Girtman would like the Board to become more politically aware of issues pertaining to children and youth so that we can not only impact the children in Boynton Beach, but nationally. Mr. Hawkins advised her that the City receives correspondence 4 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 24, 1995 from the National League of Cities and the Florida League of Cities. The Florida League of Cities sends the City datagrams on a biweekly basis. These datagrams update us on what is going on in the Florida Legislature, at the House as well as the Senate. They also advise us of the programs available, workshops, and educational opportunities that are available. When the Legislature is in session, these datagrams come out on a weekly basis and advise us of the status of bills. In addition, the library has a computer system that it tapped into the computer program in Tallahassee. Anyone can access this program. It gives the status of State bills, pending legislation, etc. Chairperson Girtman made a commitment to go to the library to pull up any legislation dealing with children to keep the Board and public informed of the issues before the legislature regarding children and how they can positively or adversely affect the children. She would like this Board to be more of an advocacy board. She felt the Board could start by supporting an increase in money so that HRS can appoint more case workers, as suggested by Vice Chairperson St. John. In response to Chairperson Girtman regarding Dr. Beil's idea to have a hotline for City events, Mr. Hawkins felt this was an excellent idea and foresaw no problems with instituting it. He advised that Beth Bailey was recently hired as the City's Public Information Officer. She will be the liaison for this Board. With regard to Dr. Beil's desire to become more involved in the community, Chairperson Girtman felt many of the members are already involved in other things that reflect on the community. For example, Ms. Panton is a member of the Playground Committee. She suggested those members report back to the Board when things happen in the organizations they belong to. They should report on items of interest to the Board, and items that the Board may want to become involved in or support. Chairperson Girtman suggested putting a directory together listing the organizations each member belongs to, and showing what ties they have so that the Board can call on them when needed. With regard to attending other City board meetings, Chairperson Girtman advised that this Board used to work very closely with the Education Advisory Board when the City was trying to get Poinciana as a magnet school. This Board used to get copies of the minutes of their meetings. She stated that we could request copies of their minutes again to keep apprised of what they are doing. Mr. Hawkins stated that City staff is trying to keep the City boards aware of the high 5 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 24, 1995 school issue. The City will be lobbying the School Board when a funding source for new construction is decided upon. In the near future, the School Board will be asking the citizens to fund new school construction and to vote on one of four funding options. Most of the options require some sort of referendum from the community. Mr. Hawkins stated that every City board should keep an eye on the high school issue. Our high school is sitting on the shelf, waiting for money. When the funding source is decided, the battle will be which high school will be built first. Dr. Beil volunteered to attend the Education Advisory Board meetings, participate in as many anti-drug marches as he can, and report back to the Board. Ms. Moss said she participated in an anti-drug march and was shocked to see teenagers with babies being exposed to this and being out until 9:00 or 10:00 o'clock at night. At this time, Ms. Lee left the meeting. She had another engagement to attend this evening. Dr. Beil asked if HRS has been contacted. Mr. Hawkins advised that Probation and Parole attended the last march, and the City is trying to get HRS investigators to join them. Dr. Beil suggested the Board write a letter in support of HRS getting involved in the Wrice Process. Consensus It was the consensus of the Board to write a letter in support of the Wrice Process and HRS being there to observe the children out at all hours of the night. Ms. Moss commended Alan Jackson of Pompano Beach and would like to cultivate a few people like him from our area. Mr. Hawkins advised that this is the goal. He stated that Mr. Jackson is helping us until we get people trained to take on that leadership role. Chairperson Girtman would love to form a City-wide youth orchestra. She suggested putting an announcement in the Boynton Times to find out if the children are interested in participating, what types of instruments they play, and to seek volunteers to conduct 6 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 24, 1995 or lead it. Dr. Beil suggested asking people to donate any instruments that they no longer want, and instructors to teach the children how to play the instruments. Vice Chairperson St. John suggested contacting Good Will and the Salvation Army and asking them to call us if they get in any instruments. Chairperson Girtman pointed out that if we ask people for instruments, we are going to have to store them somewhere. She requested that the new Public Information Officer get this information into the Boynton Times. With regard to dance groups, Chairperson Girtman advised that dance classes are offered at the Hester Center and the Civic Center through the Recreation Department. Dr. Beil suggested asking the Castoff Square Dancers to donate one night every two weeks or once a month to teach the children in the City how to square dance. Chairperson Girtman advised that Galaxy Elementary School had square dancers teach the children how to square dance. She will find out how often this is done. Ms. Moss thought the children might also be interested in line dancing. Ms. Panton announced that on Saturday evening, the Castoff Square Dancers are holding a picnic and silent auction to raise funds for the playground. In addition, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, a "Trash to Treasures" sale will be held in the Civic Center parking lot to raise funds for the playground. Motion Dr. Beil moved to send a letter to the County Legislative Delegation in support of hiring additional social workers. Vice Chairperson St. John seconded the motion which carried unanimously. Vice Chairperson St. John will followup on the "Our Community, Our Children" program. Ms. Panton reminded the members who have not paid yet, that she needs their share of money for the playground pickets. She distributed volunteer forms to help during the week of construction of the playground, which is scheduled for the last week in October. 7 MINUTES ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 24, 1995 IX. NEW BUSINESS None. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. Eve Eubanks Recording Secretary (One Tape) 8