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Minutes 12-10-98 MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH MEETING HELD IN LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH LIBRARY 208 S. SEACREST BLVD., BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1998, AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT STAFF Shanna St. John, Chairperson Melody Green, Recreation Director Bob Borovy, Vice Chairman Amy DeVries, Student Charles Fisher Steven Kuehn, Student Marie Lengert Hattie Miller Stephen Waldman, Alternate ALSO PRESENT Boynton Beach Assistant Fire Marshal Bob Borden John Becker, Certified Water Safety Instructor, Red Cross I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson St. John called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. II. MOMENT OF SILENT PRAYER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Following a moment of silent prayer, Vice Chair Bob Borovy led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Chairperson St. John suggested that Agenda Item VII, presentations be moved up on the Agenda. Assistant Fire Marshal Bob Borden gave the first presentation on fire safety and members and the audience viewed a video on fire prevention. Mr. John Becker of the Red Cross gave a presentation on water safety. A question and answer period followed each presentation. Brochures and handouts were available for the audience and members. The regular meeting reconvened at 7:55 P.M. MEETING MINUTES CHILDREN & YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 10, 1998 III. A. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chairperson St. John also suggested that Item IV.A be tabled. Chairperson St. John asked for approval of the Agenda, as amended. Motion Vice Chair Borovy moved that the Agenda, as amended by approved. Motion seconded by Heidi DeVries. Motion unanimously carried. B.APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairperson St. John asked for approval of the minutes of the October 29, 1998 meeting and the November 20, 1998 meeting. Motion Vice Chair Borovy moved that the minutes of the October 29, 1998 meeting be approved. Motion seconded by Steve Waldman. Motion unanimously carried. Motion Vice Chair Borovy moved that the minutes of the November 20, 1998 meeting be approved. Ms. DeVries seconded the motion. Motion unanimously carried. IV. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Chairperson St. John announced that the community presentation for the High School th will be on Monday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library and asked if any Board member would be available to attend. Ms. DeVries indicated she would check her schedule to determine if she could attend. Chairperson St. John announced that a presentation entitled “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Implications for Professionals and Agencies”, organized by the University of Florida will take place on Tuesday, January 12, 1999 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center, Military Trail West Palm Beach. The charge is $5.00 and applications are available on the table in the Library. 2 MEETING MINUTES CHILDREN & YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 10, 1998 Chairperson St. John announced that the Coast Guard would be giving away free life jackets tomorrow morning to the first 100 children starting at 9:00 a.m. at Boat Club Park. A. CDF UPDATE (Tabled) B. STATE ATTORNEY Chairperson St. John read a letter she received from State Attorney Barry Krischer thanking the Board for inviting the State Attorney’s Office to participate in the Youth Expo. V. NEW BUSINESS A. SET AGENDA FOR JANUARY MEETING Chairperson St. John inquired if any member had any items they would like to discuss or introduce at the regular January meeting. Mr. Waldman would like to discuss the Youth Council. Also, Mr. Waldman would like to discuss organizing a choir as opposed to an orchestra. Mr. Fisher suggested that January could be a planning month and not introduce any new items at that time. Mr. Waldman would like to discuss the teen center again. Mr. Waldman suggested before scheduling any more speakers, the Board needs to determine how to make the presentations more effective and how to attract a greater audience. Chairperson St. John suggested that the presentations could be made at school PTA meetings. Ms. Lengert felt the entries in the Youth Expo were disappointing and that not enough children participated. Chairperson St. John stated there were over 200 entries. Also, Ms. Lengert felt that planning for these events should start as soon as possible and that the Board was involved in too many projects at the same time. Vice Chair Borovy indicated that there are so many contests being offered that the schools cannot devote enough time to all of them. Ms. Lengert suggested that instead of going to the schools, the Board should go directly to the department that would be in charge of the contest. Vice Chair Borovy said that when he spoke to Atlantic High School, he was informed their agenda was set up for the year and the school does not 3 MEETING MINUTES CHILDREN & YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 10, 1998 deviate from its agenda. Therefore, the schools need to be approached at the end of the school year for next year, since the agendas are set up during the summer. Chairperson St. John said the reason the schools were not approached at the end of the school year was due to the fact that the method of sponsorship of the Expo was changed and the contests were tied in with the sponsorships. This won’t happen next time since the Sun Sentinel has agreed to sponsor the Youth Expo again. Therefore, the Board should be better prepared next time and will be in a better position to approach the schools before the school year ends. Also, Chairperson St. John said that children could be approached individually and it was not necessary for a child to enter a contest through a school. Chairperson St. John suggested this be discussed further at the January meeting. Ms. Miller said she was not aware that a child could enter a contest without entering through a school. Ms. Miller was uncertain how this could be determined because the age and grade of a child who enters a contest must be verified. Ms. Miller felt that going through the schools was the best method. Ms. Miller inquired if all the Certificates of Appreciation had been distributed to the children who entered the contests. Chairperson St. John said that not all the Certificates have been given out. As soon as she gets all the addresses of the children, Chairperson St. John will distribute the Certificates. OPEN FORUM Chairperson St. John inquired if the Board still wished to sponsor the Open Forum. It is the Board’s responsibility to choose the topic, time and place of the Forum. Ms. Lengert asked if the Forum would take the place of the January meeting and was informed it would not replace the January meeting. Mr. Fisher suggested that the Forum could be scheduled for early February as opposed to January because of the Holidays. Ms. Miller suggested that the Forum could be scheduled for Saturday, as has been done in the past. After discussion, it was Open ForumSaturday, February 6, 1999 determined that the would be scheduled for at 10:00 a.m Library . Chairperson St. Johnsuggested thatthe Forum could be held in Program Room. Ifthe Library were not available, it would be held at City Hall in the Mall. Ms. Green will check on the availability of the Library for the Forum. Chairperson St. John asked for suggestions for the topic of the Forum. Ms. Lengert suggested that this Board should assist with the Senior Center. After discussion it was the topicof the Forum would be theGoals of eachBoardfor 1999 decided that . 4 MEETING MINUTES CHILDREN & YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 10, 1998 Mr. Fisher suggested that all Boards should be invited to the Forum, not just the four Boards. Also, Mr. Waldman said there needs to be better communication among the Boards. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. YOUTH EXPO Chairperson St. John referred members to the financial statements handed out for the Youth Board’s expenses for the Expo, which are attached to the minutes. Chairperson St. John said that some of the items have been voted on, but this Board must approve all the expenditures. Also, Chairperson St. John said that the City would not reimburse the sales taxes paid by any Member. Ms. Green said that if the merchandise were purchased through the City of Boynton Beach using its tax-exempt number, some companies would not charge the tax. However, if a member goes out on their own and purchase items for reimbursement, they will not be reimbursed for the tax. Ms. Green said that the purchases must be made through the City of Boynton Beach in advance to avoid the sales tax. Ms. Green said she would speak with the City’s Finance Department on how to deal with these expenditures in the future. Further, Ms. Green noted that members of this Board are not City employees and therefore would not be authorized to use the City’s sales tax exemption certificate. Ms. Green stated if the purchases were known in advance, she could make arrangements for the purchase and use the tax-exempt certificate. Chairperson St. John stated that sometimes merchandise is needed at the last minute and cannot be planned for in advance. Also, Chairperson St. John said that the Board does not use any type of bid process, but votes on where purchases will be made, since the Board members are not City employees. Also, Chairperson St. John noted that the money sponsors contribute is intended for use by this Board, not the City. Chairperson St. John said that this Board must still vote on authorizing payment for all the expenses as presented on the financial statements. Motion Vice Chair Borovy moved that this Board make all the reimbursements listed on the financial statement presented to this Board. Motion seconded by Steve Waldman. Ms. Green noted that the funding for the GALA was from donations and was not tax dollars and will bring this point up to the Finance Department. 5 MEETING MINUTES CHILDREN & YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 10, 1998 Motion unanimously carried. The next item for review was the Board’s account balance. Chairperson St. John noted that the $1,000 from Hunters Run has not been received as yet. Ms. Green said she would follow up on this. Ms. Lengert asked what the account balance would be after all the Expo items are paid. Chairperson St. John did not know since all bills have not been paid. However, Chairperson St. John estimated that approximately $500 would be remaining. Chairperson St. John said she would have a final report for the next meeting for more detailed discussion. Ms. Lengert also questioned if any of the items purchased could be used again. Mr. Fisher said the banners, which cost approximately $500, can be used again. Also, since the Recreation Department has a laminating machine, that expense can be eliminated in the future. B. AMERICA’S PROMISE Mr. Fisher announced that next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall in the Mall there would be a meeting for the purpose of filling out the questionnaire. Mr. Fisher said that Ms. Anna Noe was present at the last meeting and is working with residents from the western section of Boynton Beach to join in. C. YOUTH VOLUNTEER BANK Chairperson St. John indicated that this needs to be discussed at the January meeting since the banquet is scheduled for May. Volunteers will be needed to verify volunteer hours. Sponsorships for the banquet will be needed and $1,100 has been donated to date for that purpose. At least 50 new children have signed up for the program. Ms. Lengert inquired if the types of volunteering should be specified. Chairperson St. John said this could also be discussed at the January meeting. Mr. Waldman said there was a mix up regarding the in-kind donation from East-West Karate. Mr. Waldman said someone should contact them for a future donation. Vice Chair Borovy stated a problem exists with the children turning in their volunteer hours because they won’t go to City Hall for that purpose. Vice Chair Borovy suggested that his Homeowner’s Association Clubhouse could be used as a drop off place to turn in volunteer hours. 6 MEETING MINUTES CHILDREN & YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA DECEMBER 10, 1998 Motion Vice Chair Borovy moved that any member who has a homeowner’s club or some type of common area could be used by the children to turn in their volunteer hours and someone would be responsible for bringing them to City Hall. Heidi DeVries seconded the motion. Ms. DeVries said that the homeowner’s clubhouses should not be the only places to drop off volunteer hours and suggested that the Library could be an additional place. Motion did not pass. The vote was 0-8 for denial. Motion Vice Chair Borovy moved that any Board member can set up drop off points and be responsible for bringing the volunteer cards to City Hall. Motion seconded by Heidi . Motion carried 6-2. ) DeVries(Ms. Lengert and Ms. Miller dissenting Chairperson St. John reminded everyone to bring in their ideas and suggestions on any of the Board’s programs to the January meeting. Each program will be reviewed individually. VII. PUBLIC AUDIENCE None VIII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting properly adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (one tape) 7