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Minutes 07-10-00JOINT CITY COMMISSION/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WORKSHOP HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM 208 S. SEACREST BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MONDAY, JULY 10, 2000 AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT STAFF Gerald Broening Mayor Bruce Black, Commissioner Charlie Fisher, Commissioner CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Kurt Bressner, City Manager Wayne Segal, Public Affairs Director Sue Kruse, City Clerk Dan DeCarlo, Neighborhood Specialist Diana Johnson, President Rick Lewis, Chairman of the Board Mike Bottcher, Vice Chair Community Affairs Jeanne Heavilin, Co-Chair of Economic Development I. Greetings & Introductions Mayor Broening called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. and asked everyone to please introduce himself or herself. Commissioner Black was presented with a birthday cake and well wishes were expressed. II. Stormwater Improvements - Progress Reports/Accountability Ms. Johnson noted that the Chamber fully supports the work being done. The Chamber would like to keep businesses informed on the progress of the stormwater improvements and feels the businesses would like a status report on the finances spent to date and when the project would be completed. Mr. Bressner reported on the following: The Industrial Avenue and Costa Bella projects would be brought before the City Commission on July 18th for approval to proceed with the engineering contracts with the two firms that had been selected. The only item Mr. Bressner would like further addressed is the start time. · With regard to the swale improvement project, the City is short listing some consulting engineering firms to provide the design work and it is anticipated Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2000 that approval of the firm selected would be brought before the Commission at the second meeting in August. Pond B has been moved up from the July 18th Commission meeting to the August 1st meeting because of some additional staff work. Pond B is expected to be substantially completed and operating in time for the bridge opening scheduled for November 1st. Through June the City has spent $1.1 million as opposed to the total contract value of $4.9 million. Mr. Foot noted that it would be important if Pond B could bey ready during hurricane season when drainage is really necessary. Mayor Broening noted that Pond B has an impermeable bottom and he will try to ascertain if it could be used prior to completion. Mayor Broening felt that the drains on Ocean Avenue would go directly into the Pond and probably are blocked and should be opened up. Commissioner Fisher inquired why the Utilities Department couldn't have the pumps ready for the Ocean Avenue area in advance of any heavy rains. III. CRA Independence and Structure - Moving Forward Mayor Broening reported that it is anticipated that the CRA would become totally independent by the end of the calendar year. Mr. Lewis 'inquired what would be needed to accomplish this. Mayor Broening would like staff to take the initiative as it did with the first two appointments and provide recommendations to the Commission from which to make their selection. Commissioner Black suggested that at the next CRA meeting the Commission could instruct Mr. Greene to move forward as had been done previously. Mr. Lewis suggested that a timetable be set to accomplish this since the groundwork has already been laid. Ms. Johnson inquired what the qualifications were for appointment and Commissioner Black reviewed them for her. The statute requires a minimum of seven to serve on the Board. Therefore, there would be openings for five more persons. Mayor Broening felt that there are some procedural issues that need to be further discussed in relationship to the Planning and Development Board and whether the P&D Board would have any responsibility in the CRA area. These are questions that need to be answered. Mr. Bressner suggested that the first step should be for the Commission to consider the criteria, duties and functions and approve them at a Commission meeting in September. This would then open up the recruitment process. Mr. Bressner said he would add this for consideration to future agenda items. Mr. Bressner inquired if the Commission meetings on the first Tuesday of the month would be changed due to elections. Ms. Kruse responded that the meetings, for September, October and November would be changed from 2 Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2000 Tuesday to Wednesday. Commissioner Black pointed out that CRA meetings are scheduled for the Wednesday between Commission meetings. II1. South Technical Education Center - What will happen there now? Mr. Lewis reported that legislation had been passed and an initiative began to move certain programs from South Technical to make them part of Palm Beach Community College (PBCC). Therefore, certain programs were eliminated from South Tech, but there was no provision for the second step, which was finding a place of all the displaced students. The Chamber would like to know if the City would like to become involved in this issue. Commissioner Fisher said he understood that PBCC would be picking up all these programs. Mr. Lewis said this did not happen and this is of great concern to the business community. Commissioner Fisher suggested that this could become a project for the City's Education Advisory Board. Mr. Hazlett said that a great many students do not want to go to PBCC because it is a college environment. The only program that PBCC took was the fire-training program. Mr. Hazlett thinks that a cosmetology program has been instituted by PBCC at South Tech, and after speaking with the new principal at South Tech, their enrollment is down 70% to 75%. Ms. Johnson would like the City to bring the appropriate representatives together from the City, the Chamber, the Technical School, the College, as well as the County Commission and School Board, to discuss what happened and find out what they intend to do about it. Ms. Johnson is also under the impression that PBCC is seeking funds to build a building to hold the classes when there already is a facility in Boynton Beach. These are students who want to become blue- collar workers and learn, a trade. Now, there is no place for them. At one time there were 4,000 students at South Technical. Mr. Hazlett felt that South Tech filled a wonderful need in the City that has now been lost. Mr. Bressner stated he was meeting on Thursday with Commissioner McCarty and will bring this issue up with her at that time. V. Marketing - Economic Development Package Mr. Segal reported that he and Ms. Johnson have been planning to put together an interactive CD about the City. Hopefully, it will be ready in time for the corporate games. Also the City and Chamber are sharing space in their respective newsletters. Ms. Heavilin reported that the Chamber has formed a Real Estate Task Force, which is a joint effort between the Chamber and the City. The intent is to identify all commercial, vacant, industrial and business properties in the city for sale and Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2000 lease to be available to anyone inquiring about the City; this information would be instantly available. Ms. Johnson stated that together with the CD and the real estate information, an economic development package could be put together. It will include economic trends, demographics, labor trends, and available workforce all in one package. This will all be linked to the web sites and will be continually updated. Mr. Hazlett asked for an update on the Public Image Task Force. Mr. Segal reviewed the information on the Task Force that had been previously presented at the last joint workshop. The salient points uncovered by the Task Force were: The City lacks a planned coordinated Public Affairs Program, which resulted in the appointment of a new director of media. Lack of scientific measurement of public attitude and the recommendation was a professional public information survey be undertaken. Coordinate with stakeholders and lack of coordinated citywide involvement. Reconstitution of a marketing and communication strategist. Brand Boynton Beach and what are the characteristics of Boynton Beach. The City's history and legacy are not fully appreciated. District master planning. Visions 20/20 designated six areas for redevelopment. The Task Force recommends that the City work with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council to obtain community involvement. Lack of coordinated marketing materials. Widespread lack of basic understanding where the City gets its money and how it spends it money. Conduct personal interviews with community leaders. Undertake a facilities audit. Also, it has been discussed at the Task Force meeting that the City draft an Art Board ordinance and that an Art Commission be created. Mr. Segal explained the purpose of setting up an Art Commission. Ms. Johnson reported that it has been discussed to prepare a state of the City program and that December 6th has been designated for this purpose. This will be presented at a breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. Mr. Segal stated that an Annual Report of the City would be presented in conjunction with the state of the City. The question was asked if there has been any progress made on developing a concept for Boynton Beach, and coming up with a theme on how to sell the City? Mr. Segal felt that the answer to these questions would be determined from the 4 Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2000 Commission going out into the City to hold Community Forums, as well as from the data gathered from the surveys being undertaken. Mr. Bottcher inquired if there would be some benefits derived in reconvening the 20/20 group? Mayor Broening said this is being looked at. Mr. DeMarco pointed out that he feels the City has a great deal to offer and that a tour of the City should be instituted for the top realtors in the County. Mayor Broening also stated this is being looked at for sometime starting up in the fall. Mr. Bottcher would like to have the Visions 20/20 people reconvene, before a whole new CRA Board is in place. Mr. Bottcher expressed his displeasure on the newspaper article about scaling back the Ocean Avenue project and felt these types of articles are not good for the City. Mayor Broening pointed out that the article only discussed the money aspect of the project. There are plans for part of the project to be omitted, and it makes no sense to fix the entire block and then dig it up again. Mayor Broening also pointed out that the Ocean Avenue project is only being scaled back for one block. The quality of the overall project will remain unchanged. Participants discussed that these types of omissions in the press hurt the City. Commissioner Black stressed that the scaling back of the project was not about the money and the decision to scale it back was due to future plans to do something with government center. Mr. Lewis was of the opinion that negative press is the result of piecemeal planning. Commissioner Black pointed out that up until now the City hasn't had the staff to carry out the visions and more staff is now coming on board. Commissioner Black noted that the City needs to do a better job in getting information out to the public. Discussion on the make-up and direction that the City is going took place and the reasons why people like Boynton Beach. Mayor Broening said that the City's population has reached 65,000 to 70,000 people. Mayor Broening thinks that the survey will prove very useful in determining what people want for the City. Mr. Lewis would like to see the messages that the City wants to get out prioritized. Someone asked if the City would be planning some type of ceremony for the opening of the bridge and Mr. Segal said this is very important and that the City is planning an event. Mr. Hazlett would like to see more involvement in the City by the younger families and currently the people who attend Commission meetings are directing City policies. Mayor Broening stated that this ties in with the importance of 5 Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2000 neighborhood associations, which is getting involved in common issues. Mayor Broening asked Mr. DeCarlo to address this issue. Mr. DeCado pointed out that there are a lot of younger communities within the City and noted that the Congress Avenue corridor is the fastest growing section in the City with mostly all younger people. Mr. DeCarlo would like to see the neighborhood programs expanded to include younger people that would make them feel part of the City. Also, Mr. DeCarlo pointed out that the Haitian community is the fastest growing segment in the community and there are now approximately 4,000 to 6,000 Haitians in the City. Also the Hindu community is growing in the south end and these communities will be looking for economic development projects and Boynton Beach is becoming a culturally diverse City. Mr. DeCarlo pointed out that there are about 70 neighborhood organizations in the City, but only about 30 are active. Mr. DeCarlo said he would be asking every neighborhood to come up with five people, which would become a core of people that would go out into the neighborhoods to perform community projects probably on a monthly basis. Ms. Heavilin asked what could be done to ensure a smooth transition throughout the Ocean Avenue construction project and Mayor Broening responded that one of the items that brought the cost of the project up was mobilization, which is an effort to accommodate the residents and merchants. The City could have reduced its costs significantly if it could have dug the street up all at one time. However, the city chose to keep one lane open and phase the construction. Commissioner Fisher also pointed out that a newsletter would be sent to the residents and merchants to keep them updated. Mr. Hazlett suggested putting a column in the Chamber newsletter on the progress of the Ocean Avenue construction. Mr. Lewis said that it was never mentioned in the press that the City was taking great strides to accommodate the residents and merchants by keeping the street open. Mr. Foot requested that the bridge opening not be delayed because of the City's plans for a ceremony. Mr. Segal stated there is a difference between ribbon cutting and a party and that they don't necessarily have to be held on the same day. The City will remain flexible in this regard. Ms. Ginny Foot wished to commend DOT on their signage and said that meetings with the bridge people were held every six weeks. 6 Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2000 VI. North American Corporate Games - Team Development and City Events Ms. Johnson noted that the City has received a great deal of good press on the corporate games. Ms. Johnson noted that Wally Majors is working very hard in getting the tennis courts ready and an event is being planned around the games. VII. School Mentoring Match - October Program A handout on the School Mentoring Program was distributed. Mr. Segal gave an overview of the Governor's Mentoring Initiative Bill, which gave time to State employees to mentor one hour per week in public schools. The Governor's goal is to sign up 200,000 people in the State to do mentoring. The program is being introduced in Boynton Beach and Boynton Beach will be the first City to enter the program, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security. Secretary Hooks promised when the program starts she will come to Boynton Beach to help kick the program off. Mr. Segal noted that the handout explains what the program is.about and reviewed the handout. The initiative requires - State agencies to create mentoring programs. Recruit 10% of each agency's staff to become mentors. Boynton Beach's role would be to act as a catalyst to increase student retention in City area schools; to provide positive role models; increase student awareness through use of community resources; and to improve student work ethics, build character and self-esteem. Mr. Segal also explained the characteristics of a mentor and the benefits of becoming a mentor. Mentoring includes one-on-one mentoring and sharing mentoring, which is basically tutoring, advising, and counseling. All fulltime city employees have received the approval of their supervisors to mentor and employees are given one hour to mentor, which includes travel time. Staff has already spoken to the School Board and they will be doing the training. The Chamber has challenged the City that for every person the City gets to mentor, the Chamber would match the City with someone from the business community. Commissioner Fisher asked when the program would start and Mr. Segal said they are planning to start at the beginning of the new school year. Mr. Segal stated he plans on meeting with the City's Human Resources Department to get Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2000 the program online and will be promoting the program through brochures and newsletters. Ms. Johnson informed Mr. Segal that the Chamber has scheduled him to announce the program at their regular membership breakfast. Commissioner Fisher announced that a school supply drive was underway and that they are coordinating with Children's Home Society for books, pencils and other school supplies that should be brought to the first meeting in August. Ms. Johnson announced that they are doing a school supply drive in the Chamber office for the Dick Webber Child Abuse Center for children at risk. VIII. Possible Holiday Community Program w/City and Chamber Mr. Bressner said that they would like to develop some type of holiday program that would be located in the town center area on a non-secular basis, which could include some type of holiday tree lighting or a community festival without getting too involved in the religious aspects of the holiday season. Commissioner Fisher would like the City to have a bigger event and to get the businesses involved and noted the festivities that take place in other surrounding cities. It was suggested that some type of home-lighting/decorating contest could be held in the City and awards could be given out. This could be tied in with the City's holiday parade, which usually is scheduled for the first Sunday in December. It was suggested that some kind of event could be held at the Mall. Ms. Johnson inquired who would be coordinating the City's events and Commissioner Fisher stated normally Parks and Recreation would handle this and he would like the Chamber to become involved. It was announced that the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 11th at 6:30 P.M. Someone asked for an update on the kiosks and Ms. Johnson replied that they have sold the second and third kiosk. Mr. Hazlett said that four and five have also been sold and there are bidders for the remaining kiosks. Commissioner Black announced that on Saturday, July 22nd the Dolphin Restaurant will be opening and noted it is a fabulous building. Commissioner Black recommended that as many people as possible attend. 8 Meeting Minutes City Commission/Chamber of Commerce Workshop Boynton Beach, Florida VIII. Adjournment July 10, 2000 The meeting properly adjourned at 8:25 p.m. ATTEST: Sue Kruse, City Clerk Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) Ma~'(~r Pro Tem 9