Minutes 05-07-22 Minutes of the City Commission Workshop Meeting
In-Person at the Intracoastal Park Clubhouse,
2240 N. Federal Hwy, Boynton Beach, Florida
On Saturday, May 7, 2022, at 9:00 A.M.
Present:
Mayor Ty Penserga James Stables, Interim City Manager
Vice Mayor Angela Cruz Jim Cherof, City Attorney
Commissioner Woodrow L. Hay Crystal Gibson, City Clerk
Commissioner Thomas Turkin
Commissioner Aimee Kelley
1. Agenda Items
A. Call to Order- Mayor Ty Penserga
Mayor Penserga called the meeting to order at 9:15 A.M.
Roll Call
City Clerk Crystal Gibson called the roll. A quorum was present.
Invocation by Commissioner Hay.
The Invocation was given by Commissioner Hay.
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Mayor Penserga
Mayor Penserga led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Agenda Approval:
1. Additions, Deletions, Corrections
David Scott, Director of Economic Development and Strategy suggested moving Item C
before Item B. Mayor Penserga agreed.
2. Adoption
Motion
Commissioner Turkin moved to approve the agenda as amended. Vice Mayor Cruz
second the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Penserga welcomed the staff and Commission and outlined the workshop
purpose.
Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
Interim City Manager Stables thanked everyone for attending.
Mr. Scott noted the Strategic Plan is updated on an annual basis and the workshop allows
for feedback from the City Commission on identified priorities. He noted they were moving
toward a five (5) year Strategic Plan with yearly updates.
Trina Pulliam and Myra Quinn, consultants from Trainnovations, introduced themselves.
C. Public Audience
Mike Fitzpatrick, 175 Southwest Second Street, said he preferred public audience at the
end. He spoke on the questions he asked about Boynton Beach's future when he was
Commissioner. Specifically, he asked how many people per square mile does the City
want in Boynton Beach. He also spoke on housing, the Tri-Rail project, and hurricane
resiliency.
Barbara Ready spoke on infrastructure needs for City expansion. She also noted Public
Audience should have been at the end in order to add to the discussion. She noted there
are additional ways to enhance the plan.
Mayor Penserga closed public comments.
B. Discuss the FY 22- 23 strategic planning process and policy priorities
Ms. Pulliam outlined the following objectives for the meeting:
• Review governance
• Identify the team and staff roles
• Review the strategic planning process
• Review the current state and overall themes
• Discuss long-term ideas (2-3 years out) and prioritization
Mayor Penserga asked about the length of the plan. Ms. Pulliam said they would answer
that question during the process review.
Ms. Pulliam reviewed the following under Governance:
• The responsible conduct of public affairs and management of public resources.
• Covers issues such as ethical conduct, rule of law, efficiency and effectiveness,
transparency, sound financial management and accountability.
Ms. Pulliam asked the Commission their ideas of what makes good governance.
Commissioner Turkin said collaboration. He noted putting constituents first.
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
Commissioner Hay said ethical conduct is key for him.
Mayor Penserga spoke on treating each other kindly and professionally, despite
disagreements.
Commissioner Kelley noted it was important to be forward-thinking and purposeful.
Ms. Pulliam said governance is how government and staff are held accountable to each
other and to the public. She asked the Commission their thoughts on how governance
guiding principles should be modeled to the community.
Commissioner Turkin spoke on integrity.
Commissioner Hay suggested looking at best practices from other cities. He also
recommended participating in training sessions, such as League of Cities, and sharing
ideas learned.
Ms. Pulliam reviewed the following most common principles for good governance:
• Accountability
• Being Transparent
• Responsive
• Effective
• Efficient
• Equitable and Inclusive
• Participatory
• Consensus-Oriented
Ms. Pulliam outlined the roles of the Commission on Team Boynton. She said they are
tasked with having high-level discussions and provide direction to City staff. She noted
another role is to adopt an annual budget.
Ms. Pulliam reviewed the roles of City staff on Team Boynton. She said their role is to
take Commission feedback, review the feedback, and to clarify what is needed to do what
the Commission is asking. Their job is to direct the staff, so City services are done
efficiently and effectively.
She reviewed some pitfalls learned from other cities. They included:
• Damage the organization or your team's mission or reputation
• Undermine your Commission's cohesion
• Violate an ordinance or law; is it dishonest or illegal?
• Negatively affect someone's work or relationships
• Harm, disrupt, or upset someone unnecessarily
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
• Come across as rude, hostile, or discourteous
Ms. Pulliam discussed the following purpose of strategy:
• Address current and future challenges, leverage advantages, core competencies
and set the direction of the City.
• A strategic plan sets direction, communicates and demonstrates a commitment to
the vision and values, sets a focus for customer and workforce engagement and
creates an emphasis on action to achieve the mission.
• With proper funding and through the deployment of the plan, strategic projects are
tracked and measured for success.
She outlined the following general Strategic Planning Process:
• Engages community leaders.
• Leverages the involvement of the private sector.
• Establishes a strategic blueprint for setting direction and creating the environment
for local prosperity.
• The strategic plan helps the City fulfill its responsibilities to citizens, businesses
and visitors, along with its societal responsibilities.
She then reviewed the specific Strategic Planning Process Boynton Beach has employed
since 2017:
• Strategy Analysis and Report to Commission
o Determine Current State
o Report to Commission
• Commissioner Engagement
o Commissioner Workshop
• Initiatives and Input from Staff and Community
o Objectives
o Initiatives
• Prioritize and Adopt
o Commission Agenda Items
• Fiscal Year Budget and Funding
o Strategic Plan
o Line-Item Budget
Mayor Penserga commented that it was time to do a State of the City presentation.
Commissioner Turkin agreed and recommended inviting the public to provide input. Mr.
Scott provided an update on an upcoming State of the Economy workshop.
Interim City Manager Stables said his vision is for each department to develop strategic
plans that dovetail with the City's strategic plan.
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
Commissioner Hay said he wants to see an overall City Strategic Plan and not one
focused on an individual Commissioner's plan.
Mr. Scott noted they were linking performance management, budget, and the overall City
Strategic Plan together for a common vision and implementation.
Ms. Pulliam reviewed the City's Vision and Mission statements. She defined Strategic
Goals. She noted the following Strategic Goals to be discussed:
• Culturally Distinct Districts
• Building Wealth in the Community
• Accessible Transportation and Mobility
• High-Performing Organization
• Safe, Inclusive, and Resilient Public Spaces
• Environmental Sustainability
• Racial and Social Equity
Interim City Manager Stables noted his effort will be to move from a staff-drive Strategic
Plan to a community-drive Strategic Plan.
John Durgan, Economic Development Manager, reviewed the current strategic plan
projects segmented by goal and progress status.
Mr. Scott provided an update on the four (4) strategic goals from 2020-2021.
Discussion ensued about becoming a value-driven organization and Team Boynton.
Ms. Pulliam asked the Commission to discuss high level ideas and where they want to
see Boynton Beach in the next 2-3 years.
The Commission offered and discussed the following ideas:
• Economic Development (Mayor Penserga)
o Identify strong industry clusters
■ Marine industry (Commissioner Turkin)
o Job creation
o Educational partnership opportunities
o Develop a talent pipeline
o Eliminate people leaving City for opportunities (Commissioner Kelley)
• Public Safety (Commissioner Turkin)
o Traffic safety (Vice Mayor Cruz)
o Cultural Training (Commissioner Hay)
o Community Engagement (Commissioner Hay)
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
• Community Cleanliness (Commissioner Turkin)
o Trash, litter, etc.
• Population Density (Commissioner Turkin)
o Creation and preservation of green space (Commissioner Hay)
o Families have a place to play outside (Commissioner Kelley)
■ Marina area
• Infrastructure (Commissioner Turkin)
o Flooding and drainage (Commissioner Turkin and Commissioner Hay)
• Student and School Safety (Commissioner Kelley)
o Support partnerships with Palm Beach County and school officers
o Resources
• Workforce Housing (Vice Mayor Cruz)
• Lower the Millage Rate (Vice Mayor Cruz)
o Support homeowners
o Support Senior Citizens
• Strengthen Community (Vice Mayor Cruz)
o Annual community events (5K Run/Walk)
• Homelessness (Commissioner Hay)
• Strengthen Legislative Relationships (Commissioner Hay)
o Appoint liaison position
• Health and Well-Being of the Community (Mayor Penserga)
o Food Deserts
• District II
Mayor Penserga added additional comments about the link between the environment and
the arts. He noted the importance of being agile and suggested the creation of a Resource
Center in order to best serve the community. Finally, he recommended identifying the
competitive advantage of Boynton Beach.
Vice Mayor Cruz thanked the staff and residents for attending the workshop.
Mr. Scott clarified the Culturally Distinct Districts does not necessarily mean the
Commission Districts. He noted it can be neighborhoods or specifical geographic areas
within the City.
Ms. Pulliam said she noted twelve (12) high-level "buckets" from the feedback the
Commission provided. She stated they need to begin to prioritize the high-level ideas and
acknowledged the upcoming FY23 budget cycle. She reviewed the following "buckets,"
in no particular order:
• Business Development
o Creating Jobs
o Industry clusters
o Access to healthy food choices
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
• Public Safety
o Neighborhood safety
o School-related safety
o Officer presence
• Green Space, Blue Space, Building
o Parks
o Gulf stream, marine industry
o Density
• Housing
o Homeowner support
o Affordability
o Rental prices
o Homelessness
o Millage rate
• Partnerships
o Education
o Arts
• Cleanliness
o Neighborhoods
o Parks
o Downtown
o Intercoastal
• Events
o Annual Events
• Infrastructure
o Drainage
o Street Lighting
• Government as a Resource Center
• Community Well-Being
o Cultural awareness
o General health and well-being of community members
Commissioner Turkin asked if staff would provide an analysis of the millage rate if it were
reduced.
Interim City Manager Stables noted the core essential services must continue to be met.
Vice Mayor Cruz mentioned public private partnerships to leverage funding for critical
issues. To that point, Mayor Penserga highlighted a local partnership between Habitat for
Humanity and ADT.
Ms. Pulliam invited the Commission to prioritize the buckets.
The Commission agreed Public Safety was a high priority.
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
Interim Police Chief Vanessa Snow confirmed there were Police Officers staffed at
Congress Middle School and Boynton Beach High School. She confirmed the staffing
decisions were made by the schools. She noted several Charter schools had agreements
with the Boynton Beach Police Department. She shared that they occasionally have to
pull an officer from road patrol in order to cover the school staffing shift.
Interim City Manager Stables suggested holding a Public Safety workshop to drill down
on specifics.
The Commission said Business Development was a high priority. Mayor Penserga
suggested adding the Millage Rate to that specific bucket.
The Commission said Housing was a high priority.
In addressing the idea of Partnerships, Vice Mayor Cruz suggested it should be part of
everything they do. Ms. Pulliam noted she would remove it from the priority list and said
it would be woven throughout.
A discussion ensued about the Cleanliness bucket. Vice Mayor Cruz suggested it should
be a medium priority.
Interim City Manager Stables recommended breaking for lunch. He noted he would like
to sidebar with Ms. Pulliam to discuss a strategy.
Commissioner Hay said he wanted to see the City more in balance. He spoke on the
inequities within the Districts.
Vice Mayor Cruz proposed that each Commissioner identify their Top 3 priorities and see
where they are aligned. She shared her Top 3 priorities were: Public Safety, Housing,
and Infrastructure.
Commissioner Turkin said his Top 3 priorities were also: Public Safety, Housing, and
Infrastructure.
The meeting recessed for lunch at 11:54 A.M. The meeting resumed at 12:45 P.M.,
following lunch.
Ms. Pulliam acknowledged that, due to staff transition during the last month, she did not
have much time to converse with Interim City Manager Stables. She confirmed staff have
enough direction within the identified buckets to develop a plan to present back to
Commission at a later date.
Consensus was reached to allow staff to develop a Draft Strategic Plan to present to the
Commission.
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 7, 2022
Ms. Pulliam thanked the Commission for being engaged and prepared for the workshop.
Interim City Manager Stables thanked Ms. Pulliam and the Trainnovations team. He
recognized staff and their involvement. He stated they would have a one-year Strategic
Plan for the City by June/July 2022, which would dovetail with budget priorities and
performance metrics. Following the one-year plan, they would work on the five-year
community-driven Strategic Plan. He noted the importance of proactively soliciting
feedback from the community.
2. Adjournment
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 12:59 P.M.
ATTEST:
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ry al Gibson,/ /4/ M C
City Clerk
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