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Minutes 12-13-95 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1995, AT 7:30 P.M. PRESENT Ron Washam, Chairman Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant to the Elizabeth Jenkins, Vice Chairperson City Manager Joy Currier Lt. Chris Yannuzzi, Police Dept. Blanche Girtman Patti Hammer Wayne Patrick Dee Zibelli Belky Cruz, Alternate Marie Lengert, Alternate ABSENT Fawn Bradley Michael Lyons I. OPENING, PLEDGE, PRAYER Chairman Washam called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by Ms. Hammer. A moment of silent prayer was observed. II. ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll. Mr. Patrick and Mrs. Cruz were not yet present. III. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS Chairman Washam welcomed Lt. Yannuzzi and Mr. Hawkins to the meeting. IV. AGENDA APPROVAL Ms. Zibelli added Item IX.B (The Leathers Project). Motion Ms. Girtman moved to approve the agenda as amended. Ms. Zibelli seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. V. MINUTES APPROVAL No additions, deletions, or corrections were made to the minutes of the November 8, 1995 meeting. Motion Ms. Zibelli moved to accept the minutes of the November 8, 1995 meeting. Vice Chairperson Jenkins seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS On behalf of the Board, Chairman Washam thanked the City Commission and the City Manager's Office for all the work they put into the Board Dinner. He said it was wonderful. He also thanked Mr. Hawkins for a fantastic year. Mrs. Currier announced that on December 20 at 9:30 a.m. there will be a Christmas party for Lena Rahming's Head Start Program. Ms. Zibelli said there was an article in the Sun Sentinel which stated that the drug marches not going well. She disagreed. Chairman Washam stated that more and more people are getting involved in the drug marches. Ms. Lengert announced that Mr. Patrick is going to be ordained as a minister on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Ms. Girtman thanked Mrs. Currier for getting a piano for Hester Center. Mrs. Currier advised that the piano was donated by Bruce Tufts of the VFW. She suggested that the Board send his organization a thank you letter. Motion Ms. Currier moved to send the VFW a letter on behalf of the Board, thanking them for the piano. Ms. Girtman seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. At this time, Ms. Cruz arrived. Ms. Girtman advised that she was on the Citizens' Committee which was involved in the selection process of a new police chief. She said it was a beautiful experience and an interesting day. She commended the Commission, City Manager, and Departments MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 13, 1995 that organized it. She said the candidates were very well qualified. VII. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None. VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS B. Unity Day Committee Update Unity Day will be held on November 2, 1996. The theme will be, "The Parade of People". Ms. Hammer said she spoke to Mr. Hawkins and was advised that the Board is allowed to raise money for Unity Day. The City could set up an account for the Board, or the Board could have one set up through a sponsor. Also, the City will be insured if this event is held on City property. Ms. Hammer said each member of the Board was supposed to submit the names of two people to serve on the Steering Committee. She advised that she cannot proceed any further with planning Unity Day until the Steering Committee is formed. The Steering Committee's responsibilities will be to get corporate sponsors, entertainment, decorations, door prizes, music, tickets, advertising, public relations, food and beverages, and the location. At this time, Mr. Patrick arrived. Discussion ensued regarding the Steering Committee and whether or not the Board should have Unity Day. Motion Chairman Washam passed the gavel to Vice Chairperson Jenkins and moved to approve and support Unity Day, to be held on November 2, 1996. Ms. Lengert seconded the motion, which carried 7-1. Ms. Currier voted nay and Ms. Girtman abstained. Vice Chairperson Jenkins passed the gavel back to Chairman Washam. 3 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 13, 1995 Chairman Washam asked the members of the Board to call Ms. Hammer with the names of the people who they think will help on the Steering Committee. He explained that the Steering Committee will make recommendations to this Board for final approval. Ms. Lengert said she spoke to Bob Zimmerman, and he is willing to help. Also, Leisureville has a Barbershop Quartet that would also be willing to participate. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Poinciana School - Requested by Ms. Hammer Ms. Hammer said a woman told her that there are pushers in front of Poinciana School at school dismissal time. She is afraid of the influence that they have on the children. Her children attend that school and she is concerned. She said this woman said it is becoming worse every day. Lt. Yannuzzi will contact this woman to obtain more information. He said there is a 1,000 foot drug free school zone around Poinciana School that the Police Department enforces. He said there is an additional penalty for conducting drug transactions within that 1,000 feet. This encompasses a very large area. It includes the property that existed on the south side of Poinciana School itself before construction was even started there. Mr. Hawkins asked that these types of delicate issues be brought to his or the Police Department's attention before placing them on the agenda and discussing them in an open forum. He hoped no one will mention this to others because we do not know if it is true. He said he was just at a meeting at Poinciana School Monday night. This woman was at that meeting and never mentioned this. He pointed out that this person is on the Poinciana School Advisory Council. Mr. Hawkins is also a member of this Council. Chairman Washam asked the members to be specific when they call the City Manager's Office to place an item on the agenda. B. Leathers Park Ms. Zibelli stated that Boca Raton used inmates to finish their park. She asked if Boynton Beach can use them to help with the Leathers Park. 4 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 13, 1995 Lt. Yannuzzi said he spoke to the Recreation Superintendent, Melody Green, last month with regard to this matter. A work crew could be assigned if we enter into an agreement with the County. In addition, there are community service hours that need to be worked off. Also, we might be able to get some juveniles from the Juvenile First Offender Program to assist with tasks that would not involve any sort of hazard. C. Update from Police Department 1. Explorer's Christmas Toy Give-a-Way Lt. Yannuzzi announced that the Explorers will be having their annual Christmas Toy Give-a-Way for City residents (toddler to 16 years old) only on Saturday, December 23rd, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Civic Center. The parents or guardians of the children must bring two forms of identification (driver's license, water bill, voter registration card, etc.) to prove that they are Boynton residents. 2. Unity Day Lt. Yannuzzi volunteered to serve on the Steering Committee. He felt the Police Department should be represented on that Committee because of crowd control issues , security issues, etc. 3. The Wrice Process Lt. Yannuzzi announced that this Friday, December 15th, will be the last march for December because of Christmas and New Year's. We will not march again until Friday, January 12, 1996. This will be March No. 23. Saturday, January 20th, will be March No. 24, and Friday, January 26th, will be March No. 25. In addition, last Monday was the last weekly meeting until January 8, 1996. Lt. Yannuzzi said he and the senior staff of the Police Department think something special should be done in conjunction with March No. 25, such as getting Mr. Wrice to return to Boynton Beach for a booster meeting. Chairman Washam said there seems to be a lot of progress being made with the Wrice Process. He was surprised at the amount of people who are turning out. He said it involves more than just driving the drug dealers out of the area. There is a sense of 5 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 13, 1995 community. The marchers are returning to neighborhoods to take care of people's yards or checking on the people who are alone. He urged everybody to participate. He pointed out that not just one area is affected. Lt. Yannuzzi advised that there was a drug raid last Friday in Sky Lake, and the Police Department confiscated a quantity of cocaine powder, a pound of marijuana, and several thousand dollars in cash. D. Selection Process for Police Chief Mr. Hawkins advised that we purposely made this an endeavor for the candidates because it was our intent to find the best possible candidate to come to Boynton Beach. We had some highly qualified and excellent candidates to choose from. It is going to be a very hard decision. One of the reasons we wanted to include the citizens in this process is to let them see the caliber of people that we had to choose from. Also, it helped the candidates to get a true picture of what they would have to deal with if they came to this City. It will either persuade or dissuade a candidate from taking the job. Mr. Hawkins said the City appreciated people like Ms. Girtman who participated on the citizens' panel. The process included citizen panel interviews, a police chief panel interview, a staff panel interview, an in-basket exercise, and a citizen complaint exercise that was videotaped. A professional testing company will evaluate the entire process, except the interview panels, and send us the final scores. It is our intent to have somebody on board by the first of the year or soon thereafter. E. Holiday Decorations Mr. Hawkins asked the members of the Board what they thought about the decorations around City Hall and along Boynton Beach Boulevard and Federal Highway. The members thought they were wonderful. X. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Washam wished everyone a safe and joyous holiday season. 6 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 13, 1995 There being no further business to come before the Board, Ms. Girtman moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Mrs. Currier seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Eve Eubanks Recording Secretary (One Tape) 7