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Minutes 01-11-12 MINUTES OF THE VETERANS ADVISORY COMMISSION HELD ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2012, AT 10:00 AM IN CITY HALL, CONFERENCE ROOM B 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Tom Kaiser, Chair Mark Bobich, Risk Management William Mitchell Victor Norfus Stuart Preston Bridget Roberts Frank Bregoli, Alt Stanley Gavlick, Alt. ABSENT: James Bowman John Farrington Lester McKinzie, Alt. Karl Washington, Alt. I. CALL TO ORDER — Tom Kaiser, Chairman Chair Kaiser called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE — All Hands The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. III. INVOCATION Chair Kaiser gave the invocation. IV. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was present. V. AGENDA APPROVAL, January 11, 2012 Motion Mr. Preston moved to approve the agenda. The motion was duly seconded and unanimously passed. 1 Meeting Minutes Veterans Advisory Commission Boynton Beach, FL January 11, 2012 VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES, November 9, 2011 Motion Mr. Mitchell moved to approve the minutes. The motion was duly seconded and unanimously passed. VII. COMMENTS a. Chair Chair Kaiser distributed minutes from the Veterans Council listing planned monuments and their completion dates which the Council members voted on and approved. These monuments, once installed, would complete the Park. A brief meeting was held at the Park because the Mayor proposed, at one time, to purchase, on his own, a monument and bench. Chair Kaiser noted every monument at the Park was partially paid for by the Veterans Council. The POW /MIA Remembrance Vigil event would be held again this year using the Boy Scouts. Chair Kaiser planned an even bigger event and reported the Boy Scouts loved participating. The Veterans Council supplied pizza at night and breakfast in the morning. He anticipated this event would be a highlight for Florida. September 2nd was Victory over Japan Day with the French dignitaries awarding medals. Medals were awarded at seven ceremonies last year with two of the ceremonies taking place at the Civic Center. Chair Kaiser noted many veterans were passing on and he was seeking to avoid awarding the medals posthumously. b. Members or Visitors Chair Kaiser introduced Elliot Kleinberg from the Palm Beach Post. VIII. OLD BUSINESS: a. Veterans Memorial Park Events Veterans' Day, Friday, November 11, 2011 There were no comments on this item. ii. Afghanistan War Monument & Pearl Harbor 70 Anniversary Commemoration, Wednesday, December 7, 2011 Chair Kaiser noted the Afghanistan War Monument and Pearl Harbor Anniversary Commemoration on December 7th went well. Three television stations and two major 2 Meeting Minutes Veterans Advisory Commission Boynton Beach, FL January 11, 2012 newspapers provided great coverage for Boynton Beach. There was also a ceremony p 9 9 Y Y at Ascension Lutheran Church later that the evening, which went well. iii Iraqi War Monument Commemoration, November 11, 2012 Chair Kaiser commented the Iraqi Monument was paid for and unveiled in November 2011. b. Four Chaplains Commemoration, February 5, 2012, 2PM, Temple Beth Kodesh A press release for the above ceremony was distributed, and the members were requested to pass on the information. Ten veterans would receive medals at this event with a collation to follow. The American Legion would attend and agreed to bring their Colors. Colors from other posts were welcome; however, those bringing them were reminded to bring the flag stands as well. c. Awarding of French Legion of Honor Medals, Civic Center i. January 19, 2012, 12:00 PM ii. March 1, 2012, 12:00 PM iii. April 5, 2012, 12:00 PM Chair Kaiser announced 22 veterans will receive medals in January He requested volunteers to set up and break down chairs for the event. He anticipated the ceremony would last about an hour. d Donated flags and poles along center walkway (awaiting funding & written proposal) Chair Kaiser was still checking on the above and commented it would be great to have three flag poles on the outer perimeter of each side of the Park. He also expressed his appreciation to the City for moving the existing flagpole. The Armed Forces flags would be flown when ceremonies were held. Discussion followed that instead of cementing the poles into the ground, there was a plastic insert for the poles that could be placed in the ground and removed when needed. These inserts were used in Boca Raton and cost significantly less. As to flags, Chair Kaiser noted interment flags were needed and the members were asked to alert individuals that if they had interment flags, they could be donated to the Veterans Advisory Commission to be flown and honorably retired. Discussion followed the Post Office issues the flags and if veterans had pre - burial arrangements, they should submit their discharge papers to the funeral parlor so they could obtain the flag beforehand. 3 Meeting Minutes Veterans Advisory Commission Boynton Beach, FL January 11, 2012 e. Honorary Member Appointments (3 positions vacant) Chair Kaiser noted a motion was made at a prior meeting to update the list. f. Park Brochure & Fundraisers Bricks for the Park were needed and the members were urged to speak with their Posts. Chair Kaiser pointed out the Park and bricks provided a place for relatives to sit and meditate when their loved ones were gone. He suggested the Marines purchase 30 or 40 bricks, which would pay for their monument and create an entire section dedicated to the Marines. He made the same pitch to the lady veterans; however, no response was received from either group. IX. NEW BUSINESS: a. Renaming of Veterans Park recommendation to City Commission Approve Rec & Parks Board recommendation for Ocean Avenue Park; or, ii Approve individual recommendation for Dewey Park Mr. Bobich confirmed Boat Club Park was renamed Harvey Oyer, Jr. Park. The Veterans were now requested to make a recommendation to rename the Park on Ocean Avenue. The Recreation and Parks Department forwarded a letter they received in support of renaming the Park on Ocean Avenue after Fred and Byrd Dewey, founders of Boynton Beach. The letter detailed the Dewey's had purchased 40 acres, which constituted the town's original plan. Motion Mr. Gavlick moved to rename the Park to Dewey Park as it would be more significant than just renaming the Park the Ocean Avenue Park. Mr. Preston seconded the motion that unanimously passed. b. Proposed Monuments & Benches U.S. Coast Guard & Auxiliary Monument, June 6, 2012 The Coast Guard monument was paid for and would be unveiled on June 6, 2012. ii. U.S. Marines Monument (Guadalcanal 70 Anniversary), 1 week August, 2012 The unveiling of the U.S. Marines' monument was planned for August 7, 2012. Chair Kaiser noted each day after December 7th of this year marked the 70th anniversary of 4 Meeting Minutes Veterans Advisory Commission Boynton Beach, FL January 11, 2012 some disaster of World War II. The Bataan Death March, the Battle of Midway, and Guadalcanal would be honored on June 6th. A map of Guadalcanal will be included on the monument, with Henderson Field and battles fought by the Marines from each war. These battles included Iwo Jima; Belleau Wood, from WW I; Guadalcanal; the Chosin Reservoir in Korea; and Kason (Khe Sanh). Bay of Pigs Monument, tbd iv. Cuban Missile Crisis Monument, tbd v. U.S. Air Force Monument, tbd vi. U.S. Navy Monument, tbd vii. U.S. Army Monument, tbd The Air Force, Army, Navy, and other branches of the service would have monuments with similar information as was on the Marines' monument. Chair Kaiser commented he had been thinking of the Cuban Missile Crisis. If the situation had not been handled as it was, it could have been the biggest disaster of the century. He commented the Mayor had approached him over a year ago, and again more recently, about monuments for the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs, as there were Cuban residents in the area. Chair Kaiser advised if the Mayor wanted the monuments, the Veterans would not pay for them. They would have to be donated. It was hoped the Mayor would donate to the Cuban Missile Crisis monument. As to the Bay of Pigs, the CIA handled the operation, but it ended in disaster. Chair Kaiser conveyed he received a call from a woman from Miami, after the newspaper article about the two monuments appeared. She lived there for 40 years. She commented she knew all about the Cubans and pointed out not one person from Boynton Beach died during those missions. Chair Kaiser noted not one person from Boynton Beach died in WW I or Desert Storm but there were monuments for them. The Park was history. The monuments listed were discussed at the Veterans Council and approved unanimously, but final approval of the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis monuments was left to this Board. Chair Kaiser asked for a motion regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs monuments. One member commented he had strong feelings about the Bay of Pigs. The Park was beautiful and represented many of the services and positive things about the country. Including the Bay of Pigs would detract from the Park. For whatever the reasons, the Bay of Pigs was a constant reminder of a dismal failure. Other comments were the Bay of Pigs was more of a CIA disaster and it was not an armed services effort. It was a clandestine operation that failed. It was acknowledged the Cuban people wanted to free their country and many enlisted in the service after the effort and fought in Vietnam. As to failure and controversy, Chair Kaiser pointed out the Korea War ended in an armistice, and there were issues with Vietnam. 5 Meeting Minutes Veterans Advisory Commission Boynton Beach, FL January 11, 2012 Motion Mr. Gavlick moved to erect both monuments, the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile. The motion died for lack of a second. Chair Kaiser stated for the record not one member was contacted by him and told to vote one way or the other. Motion Mr Norfus moved to approve the Cuban Missile Crisis monument. Mr. Mitchell seconded the motion that unanimously passed. c. Veterans Memorial Park Bus Stop /Shelter Mr. Bobich explained there was a bus stop proposed for the northeast corner of the Park. Neither Mr. Bobich nor Mr. Magazine had seen any plans for the bus stop /shelter but Mr. Bobich had heard on the news the shelter would be off to the side and would not have advertising or anything else that would detract from the Park. Brief discussion ensued and the members liked the idea of the Park being the first thing passengers would see when they got off the bus. Additionally, with a trash can there, pedestrians could pickup and dispose of litter. d. Other Mr. Bobich explained the City was approached about having a 911 monument at the Park. Chair Kaiser explained someone also contacted him why there was no monument to the Indian Code Talkers, to which he responded if they wanted to make the proposal and donate, that was fine. He commented there was always someone with an idea of what should be included in the Park. Additionally, direction was sought if the Veterans wanted demobilized military equipment at the Park. Chair Kaiser again explained he was approached about putting a torpedo monument on the grassy area. He noted with the base included, the monument would be 25 feet long and unless it was something unique and someone would supply and deliver the equipment, they would have to take it under advisement. Chair Kaiser did not see any major pieces of equipment at the Park, and the members expressed the Park was a memorial to the wars. While a piece of equipment would be an enhancement, there was no room. Chair Kaiser said the Cuban Missile Crisis monument would be put on hold because it had to have a companion monument. X. BENEDICTION, MOMENT OF SILENT PRAYER Chair Kaiser gave the benediction, followed by a moment of silent prayer. 6 Meeting Minutes Veterans Advisory Commission Boynton Beach, FL January 11, 2012 XI. NEXT BOARD MEETING — Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 10:00 AM XII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Chair Kaiser adjourned the meeting at 10:48 p.m. (1 Olakkj,, Catherine Cherry Recording Secretary 011212 7