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Minutes 08-26-00 TOWN MEETING WITH COMMISSIONER BRUCE BLACK SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2000 AT 9:00 A.M. IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, SEACREST AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present Commissioner Bruce Black City Manager Kurt Bressner Commissioner Black called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. and introduced City Manager Kurt Bressner. Commissioner Black welcomed everyone and stated he was present to listen to what the citizens wanted to talk about. He requested that everyone present introduce himself or herself and that they complete the sign in sheet, the original of which is attached to the minutes. Mr. Tracy Stokes stated he was a graphite artist and that he has been coming to the Library on a voluntary basis everyday to teach children how to draw. Mr. Stokes said there are some excellent artists within the City that come in all ages and from all walks of life. Mr. Stokes had some drawings available for viewing and stated he would like to bring the arts to the City, which is taking place in a great many other cities in the County. He feels that the City needs to have an Art's Council to get the arts into the City. He also said he could use some help with materials for the children and the City needs a place to display art. Commissioner Black reported that at a recent Commission goal setting meeting, community identity was a very important goal and there needs to be some kind of niche in the City. One priority discussed was an Art's Commission that would encourage artists to come into the City to display their work. Commissioner Black said that when the Children's Museum opens it would be the opportune place to showcase the talents of the children. Another meeting is scheduled for September to address this issue. Commissioner Black announced that the City, together with the Chamber of Commerce, is starting a mentoring program which will kick-off at 10:00 a.m. this coming Tuesday at the Old Schoolhouse Museum. Boynton Beach is the first City in the State to offer the mentoring program to City workers and this could be tied in with art tutoring as well. Commissioner Black offered to find a place to display the artwork and noted there are many places throughout the City where this would be possible. Also, Commissioner Black said he would contact some of the principals of local elementary schools to see what could be worked out with the schools. Town Meeting With Commissioner Black Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 200_0 Mr. Dick Philpott noted that Motorola has a sponsorship program and the person to contact would be John Almond. City Manager Bressner announced that he met with the new Director of the YMCA, which is scheduled to open December lstl Mr. Bressner stated one of the purposes of the meeting was to ensure that the City's Park and Recreation programs mesh with the YMCA programs. Mr. Bressner feels there is a great deal of coordination that could exist between the City and the YMCA. Ms. Joy Currier stated that the Community Relations Board is trying to get the Kravis Center, which has a program that goes out to the local schools, to come to Boynton Beach. Also, Ms. Currier said that she is trying to get a welcome garden put up in the City and is working with Ms. Blanche Girtman who has a lot on the corner of MLK Boulevard and Seacrest for this purpose. Ms. Victoria Castello said that she noticed on Ocean Avenue near the FEC railroad tracks that the property at that location is being used for the display of artwork. Mr. Bressner stated that Mr. Bob Katz is spearheading this project. Ms. Castello said that there needs to be better communication throughout the City so that people know what is going on. Commissioner Black stated the Commission and staff are working on how to get the message out and realize that there is a lack of communication in the City. Commissioner Black announced that the City is trying to get the local cable company to broadcast the City Commission meetings, and the City would like to have its own channel so that it would have a place to broadcast future events. Commissioner Black reported that staff is currently conducting an assets evaluation to see what is in the City and to determine what resources are located within the City. Mr. Bressner noted that the mentoring program has been written up in the two local papers and the City has hired a Public Affairs Coordinator, Mr. Wayne Segal, who is doing an excellent job to get the word out on what is happening in the City. Ms. Alice Otis stated it is important to keep the City's web site up to date. Ms. Otis asked why the people who live in Palm Beach Leisureville were not approached to be part of the new trash removal program and the Board of Directors were permitted to decide for everyone that they didn't want it. Ms. Otis would like to participate in the program and feels that this should have been brought to the attention of all the people and not just the officers of a community association. Mr. Bressner said he would discuss this with the Board of Directors of Palm Beach Leisureville at his meeting with them next week. 2 Town Meeting With Commissioner Black Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2000 Mr. Philpott would like to be able to pay the water bill via the Internet and this would also provide the City with a means to communicate information to the residents. Commissioner Black stated that one of the Commissioners has already asked that this be looked into. Mr. Bressner stated that there are firms that would provide this service, but there is usually a small transaction fee involved. Mr. Philpott also suggested having a live video feed on the Internet to broadcast Commission Meetings. Mr. Bressner felt that when Adelphia Cable upgrades the cable facilities in City Hall, this might be possible. Mr. Bressner would like to see the Commission Meetings broadcast live on the radio. Commissioner Black announced that Mr. Katz offered two vacant properties on MLK Boulevard to be available forgardening projects. Commissioner Black also announced that on September 23faa vegetable garden would be planted by the children who attend classes at the Art Center on land behind the Civic Center. Commissioner Black also noted that the elementary schools within the City are in desperate need of volunteers. Ms. Currier announced that the County's extension agent is proposing a program in the City to teach children where vegetables come from and Ms. Currier would like her to participate in some of the programs discussed today. Commissioner Black said he is aware of this and would be contacting the County agent. Commissioner Black asked for feedback on how the City should come up with an identity. The idea of an ocean village motif had come up previously and Ms. Currier noted that the City's slogan is "Gateway to the Gulfstream". Ms. Currier suggested that more sailfish motifs should be displayed on Federal Highway upon entering the City. Mr. Bressner stated that this is an area that would be covered by the Art Commission. Mr. Stokes pointed out that the City has great resources and there are wonderful artists available. He suggested having artists placed outside the Library drawing, which would be a great attraction in bringing people into the City. Commissioner Black pointed out that the farmer's market was not very successful and perhaps an artists' market on Saturday morning would be a different way to go and people could bring their children to draw. Commissioner Black felt that having bronze markers displayed throughout the City depicting the history of the City would be a good way to attract people. Ms. Castello does not like seeing all the Walgreen's and Eckerd's that are going up in the City and feels there are too many of these stores already. Commissioner Black responded that staff has been instructed to come up with a master plan for the City's zoning to avoid this from continuing. 3 Town Meeting With Commissioner Black Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2000 Officer Chapman suggested that Mr. Stokes go out to the Mall this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. because the Sheriff's Gang Task Force will be there to address the graffiti issue that existed in the City and that there are grants available for art projects. Commissioner Black announced that on September 7th at 6:30 p.m. there will be a City Commission Workshop in the Library dealing with ways to come up with money to fund these programs. Mr. Philpott stated that he resides in Golfview Harbor and there are people parking their cars on the lawns. They have contacted Code Compliance on this problem, but the Code Compliance Officers have stated this is difficult to enforce. Also, Mr. Philpott feels that there is more than one family living in sing-family homes. He would like to have a citywide law passed that would prohibit parking on lawns. Commissioner Black stated that this is a citywide problem and it is difficult for the Code Officers to determine if more than one family lives in the house and if the people in the house are in fact related. Mr. Philpott suggested that a citywide Ordinance could be passed that would limit the amount of cars that could be parked on the lot. Mr. Bressner said this has been an issue throughout the United States and that the Supreme Court has determined that up to five unrelated persons could live in a household. The Supreme Court guidelines have to be followed, but many communities have adopted property maintenance codes, which have been successfully litigated that could be looked at. Mr. Bressner stated that in a former community that he worked in, the City narrowed the width of the driveways, which was upheld in the courts. Also, overnight street parking was prohibited and this reduced the incidence of overcrowding. Mr. Philpott said that this situation is downgrading his neighborhood. Mr. Edwards felt this would cause problems for people who park recreational vehicles, boats and trailers in their yards. He would like to see this left up to the individual communities. Mr. Edwards suspects that this type of living is also going on in his community and they have tried to address it through the Police Department. Commissioner Black noted that a great many people live in communities that are not so restrictive in order to park their boats and trailers in their yards. Commissioner Black said that they would look into the issue of overcrowding in single-family homes. Mr. Bressner pointed out that there has to be some type of adjudication process to go along with any type of property maintenance standards in order to enforce them. Whenever the City adopts an Ordinance change, an enforcement mechanism and adjudication process must be set. Mr. Bressner felt that there are a limited number of judges in a County of this size and to try to increase the caseload with 4 Town Meeting With Commissioner Black Boynton Beach, Florida August 26, 2000 these types of issues might be difficult. Mr. Bressner suggested that Mr. Philpott and members of his association meet with him and other staff to see if they can come up with some alternatives. Mr. Bressner said it is important to avoid any backlash within the community. Someone suggested that there should be some type of yellow brick road from the Mall to downtown to attract people to the downtown area. Commissioner Black would like to see entryway signs into the City. Most people present agreed that they liked the small town atmosphere that exists in Boynton Beach. Commissioner Black said that he would like to have these meetings on a monthly basis because something new always surfaces. The rich history of the City was discussed. Mr. Bressner suggested posting historical pictures of the City on the City's web site. Mr. Bressner said he needs to sit down and speak with Mr. Stokes about developing a network of artists and crafts people and to get the information out and to plan some events. Methods on how to get the word out to the public were discussed. Mr. Bressner said he would like to determine if the web site that Ms. Castello maintains on the City could be linked to the City's web site. Mr. Bressner will follow through by speaking to Mr. Peter Wallace, the ITS Director and arranging a meeting with Ms. Castello. Commissioner Black pointed out that - · Boynton Beach is the bargain of Palm Beach County and even though the published population is 55,000, in actuality there is probably over 70,000 in the City and it is still growing. · The new Village at Quantum Park is moving forward. · The new high school will be open next August and will be called Boynton Beach Community High School. · The Ocean Avenue Project will start up in about a week and should be completed within 200 days. Ocean Avenue will be a promenade to the Marina. There being nothing further to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 5