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Minutes 06-19-00 MEETING MINUTES NEIGHBORHOOD FORUM WITH COMMISSIONER CHARLIE FISHER, MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2000 AT VILLAGE ROYALE ON THE GREEN EAST CLUBHOUSE, 2505 NE 2ND COURT, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present Commissioner Charlie Fisher Police Chief Marshall Gage City Manager Kurt Bressner Opening Statement Commissioner Fisher called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. and explained to the audience that he represents District IV, which covers Village Royale on the Green. Commissioner Fisher thanked Village Royale for allowing the City to hold its first Commission meeting on the road at their clubhouse and announced that next month the Commission meeting would take place at Boynton Beach Leisureville on July 5th. Tonight's meeting was the result of discussion that took place at Commissioner Fisher's CIP meeting where residents requested that they wanted more police officers and said there are problems that need to be addressed. Commissioner Fisher introduced Police Chief Gage who would be conducting the meeting, which would focus on the area east of 1-95 and north of Gateway. It was requested that the issues tonight be limited to police concerns. Police Chief Gage invited two of his staff members to the meeting and asked them to introduce themselves. Lt. Carl Miller stated that he is the evening shift Watch Commander and works from 3:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. Officer Paul Deale stated that he has been with the Boynton Beach Police Department since 1997 and works the evening shift in the north end of the City, which are zones 1 and 2. Village Royale is located in zone 1. Also present were two COP volunteers. A representative stated that COP stands for Citizen's Observer Patrol and explained what the COPs' duties are and that they patrol 24 hours per day in two-hour shifts. Chief Gage stated that there are over 1100 volunteers citywide in the COP program and explained how a COP program can be instituted in a community. Some COP programs have branched out from their communities into their neighboring areas, both residential and business. Meeting Minutes Neighborhood Forum with Commissioner Fisher Boynton Beach, Florida June 19, 2000 Chief Gage stated that there were many perceptions about tonight's meeting and explained how he intended to conduct the meeting. Chief Gage stated that perception wise, if anyone in the audience has been a victim of a crime recently, crime is running rampant. If numbers alone were discussed, numbers are coming down. However, numbers mean nothing to a person who has been a recent crime victim. Chief Gage stated his goal is to prevent a person from becoming a victim again. Chief Gage pointed out that the County about two years ago asked the City if it would take over SandCastle and incorporate it into the City. The County claimed that SandCastle had a major crime problem as a direct result of Boynton Beach Officers driving drug dealers out of the City and into that area, which Chief Gage pointed out he encourages his officers to drive the drug dealers north. Driving the drug dealers south, only encourages them to come back. The City did not want to take over SandCastle and declined. The Sheriff took over the area and sent the drug dealers back to Boynton. As a result of this, everyone has been playing Ping-Pong sending the drug dealers back and forth. Now, an officer from the City in a month or two will be assigned to the County and deputized and the City will be working hand and hand with the County. Last year Boynton Beach experienced about a 14% drop in crime. Chief Gage pointed out that the officers coming onboard are now better educated, but unfortunately there is a problem with drug dealers and they are working hard on the problem. Chief Gage announced that today the City served federal warrants on five drug dealers in the City, two that are in this zone. Unfortunately, the possibility of someone else taking their place exists. A question was asked how the residents could assist the police with dealing with the drug dealers. Chief Gage stated that residents should feel free to provide the information to him or to call the desk. Response time is very important and residents have the right to the expectation of a reasonable response time. Chief Gage reported that communications have been instructed that if for any reason arrival time by an officer is 15 minutes or more, the person calling is told of this. Also dispatch has been instructed if the officer responding to the call cannot respond within a 15-minute timeframe, they are to call the complainant back with an anticipated time of arrival. On hot ("emergency") calls, police response time is under seven minutes throughout the city. A woman asked by how many police officers is the City understaffed? Chief Gage stated as of today there are two and as of next Monday, there will be none. Chief Gage stated that about three or four months ago the Police Department was down about 10 to 12 officers. Mr. Marshall Friedland asked if there are still discrimination problems in the Police Department? Chief Gage stated that there is a big problem nationwide in 2 Meeting Minutes Neighborhood Forum with Commissioner Fisher Boynton Beach, Florida June 19,2000 trying to recruit minorities and reported that Delray Beach is down approximately 10 to 12 officers and Boca Raton is down approximately 12 to 15. The City's recruitment is getting better, because the City is getting a better reputation. He replied that the City is actively pursuing minority candidates and the City itself is sponsoring three to four minority candidates to the academy. A woman asked why Officer Deale was covering two zones tonight and was informed that was not the case. Officer Deale replied that he covers zones 1, 2 or 3 and is assigned specific zones. Chief Gage noted that some zones have been split up, but zone 1 is not split up and as a result of a full staff, there will be more police presence in the area. A woman in the audience stated there is a problem with prostitution in the area and asked what the police department is doing about prostitution. Lt. Miller stated that there is far less prostitution in the City and there are very few prostitutes in Boynton Beach. He noted that Delray Beach and Lake Worth have problems and he is aware of the two prostitutes that were mentioned. Boynton Beach has done very well over the past few years with getting rid of prostitutes. Ms. Zibelli stated that she has not received any response on the gang graffiti that is on the road and stated it has not been cleaned up. Chief Gage said he would follow through on getting this cleaned up because he had previously asked a staff member to take care of this. Ms. Zibelli also stated that a speed chase had taken place on her street and when she called the City, the dispatcher hung up on her. She stated that officers eventually did show up, but there was a very long response time. Chief Gage pointed out that dispatch does not answer to the Chief of Police and is part of communications. Dispatch works for the police and fire departments, but if a problem does occur he passes it on to the appropriate person. Also, Ms. Zibelli said that traffic on her street has increased tremendously because the truck drivers don't like getting off Gateway now that it is down to one lane and there are a lot of children on her street. Ms. Zibelli would like to see some speed bumps placed on Ocean Parkway to deter all this traffic. Chief Gage said he would look into this. Chief Gage stated that his philosophy on speeding is 20% over the speed limit you get a ticket. Ms. Zibelli stated that the school buses are the worst offenders with speeding. Chief Gage pointed out that three-four years ago the topic of discussion was a major crime problem in the City with drug dealers and prostitutes, but pointed out tonight the discussion is speeding issues, which is much more pleasant to deal with compared to drug dealers and prostitutes. 3 Meeting Minutes Neighborhood Forum with Commissioner Fisher Boynton Beach, Florida June 19, 2000 Mr. Friedland pointed out that during the summer months the children need to have more to do to keep them out of mischief. Ms. Zibelli stated that she has spoken with Wally Majors about the school grounds being made available with supervision for the children during the summer. However, Ms. Zibelli said that Dr. Voss would not allow this. Commissioner Fisher reported that a needs assessment for a teen center and programs for teens are being undertaken by the Advisory Board on Children & Youth. A gentleman in the audience inquired if the Ezell Hester Center was providing a need for the children during the summer?. One person in the audience stated that some parents don't want their children going to the Hester Center. Discussion ensued on various means to keep the children busy during the summer and Commissioner Fisher stated that all ideas and suggestions would be welcomed. A woman in the audience suggested that the City intervene and try to get Dr. Voss to make the Rolling Green School available during the summer. She pointed out that there are dangers to children in trying to cross Seacrest to get to the Hester Center because of the tremendous amount of traffic. Commissioner Fisher stated that he meets with City Manager Kurt Bressner every Friday morning and this is one item that has been discussed to determine what programs are available in this part of the City. A gentleman in the audience requested that the machine that registers speed be placed on 26th Avenue. A woman reported that traveling along 26th Avenue to Miner Road, there is an abandoned house that sits on the curve. Even though it is boarded up, people can be seen coming and going from the back of the house and there appears to be a great deal of activity taking place. Also, the property is a disgrace. Chief Gage said he would speak with the Code Compliance Supervisor about this and asked for explicit directions to the property. It was determined that the property in question is located on 4th Court off Ocean Parkway. Another woman reported that there is a house on 20th Avenue between 3rd and 4th where drug dealing is taking place. She stated she has made numerous complaints and it is still occurring. A gentleman complained about the drag racing taking place in the evening and about the tremendous amount of noise emanating from the radios. Also, he complained about the auto thefts from their parking lots. He felt as a deterrent to auto thefts, the youth should be treated as adults and not juveniles. 4 Meeting Minutes Neighborhood Forum with Commissioner Fisher Boynton Beach, Florida June 19, 2000 Chief Gage stated that recently a detective has been assigned to the County's Auto Theft Task Force and they have been focusing on the chop shops in the City. These shops pay the youth to steal cars and there has been a lot of activity in the south end. Chief Gage said that convictions would be increasing in the future of the chop shops themselves. Also, the State Attorney has advised that now it only takes four convictions for jail time, as opposed to 16 in the past. Ms. Zibelli inquired if a police sub-station could be located in this area. Police Chief Gage pointed out that sub-stations are very expensive and in effect what people are looking for is police presence, not just a sub-station. If a sub-station were built, people would expect it to be staffed. Chief Gage said he would try to provide more police visibility in the area. Mr. Friedland inquired about the status of the Wrice Program that took place a few years ago. Chief Gage reported that Dr. Herman Wrice, the originator of the program, passed away about a month ago. The program in effect is a community-based program, which includes forming strong partnerships with the community. The police can't do it all and the community needs to help out. Chief Gage said this program was initiated before he came to Boynton Beach and there were complaints that the program came from the City and not the community. There were problems in getting community leaders involved because it was an issue introduced by the Police Department and the City. This type of initiative has to be grassroots. A woman noted that once Officer Vargas left the area, things changed and Chief Gage responded that good police officers become successful and move on to specialty units. Chief Gage requested that the residents try to bond with the officers that have taken Officer Vargas' place and that is the purpose of introducing Officer Deale tonight, who is assigned to this area on a regular basis. Also, Chief Gage reported that all neighborhood associations are encouraged to invite an officer to their meetings and all that is necessary is to telephone the Watch Commander. All supervisors in the Police Department must attend a minimum of two meetings per month. This gives the police an opportunity to meet the people and discuss issues with them. A gentleman asked why Chief Gage doesn't ask for a sub-station in his budget. Chief Gage pointed out that this was suggested at one of the CIP meetings and he is putting this request into the CIP budget. Discussion took place on finding another meeting place in the City and the costs involved for use of a building. A gentleman asked if any plans had been made to replace the Royal Palm Clubhouse? Commissioner Fisher said that various alternatives are being looked at and that he has discussed it with Mr. Bressner. 5 Meeting Minutes Neighborhood Forum with Commissioner Fisher Boynton Beach, Florida June 19,2000 A woman also noted that there was a building that could be available that is located at the corner of 26~h and Seacrest and Commissioner Fisher said he would check into this. A question was asked what type of programs the Police Department is involved in with the teenage community and Chief Gage pointed out the PAL Program is active throughout the City. He pointed out that most children involved in the PAL Program are from the north end of the City. There are various activities for the children to become involved in. A question was asked if the ice hockey rink was still being built, and Chief Gage responded that one of the backers withdrew and the property will now have another use instead of a hockey rink. A woman stated she contacted the Code Compliance Department to inform them about the trees along NE 4th Street that have grown out into the street and to date nothing has been done. Chief Gage said he would follow through with this. Chief Gage reported on the PAL Program and noted recently that the children participated in two statewide competitions and last week competed in a nationwide competition. Two children in the Program finished with third place trophies in track and field and the remainder of the children finished in either first or second place and performed tremendously. Chief Gage announced that Officer Bill Tome, who is the PAL Officer, won the countywide program for child advocate of the year award. Commissioner Fisher announced that last month at the Volunteer Banquet, the youth in Boynton Beach logged over 11,000 hours of community service and there are a lot of great kids in the City. A woman in the audience stated that a lot of parents won't send their children to the Hester Center and that their children have been beaten up and attacked. Chief Gage stated that Hester Center is not what it was a few years ago and this is another perception issue. The crime issues that used to exist do not exist today. The City now must try to convince people to come back and give the Hester Center another chance. Commissioner Fisher stated that his daughter would be attending the summer camp on Seacrest this summer and he feels comfortable sending his daughter there. Mr. Friedland complimented the Police Chief, Fire Chief and new City Manager and feels the City is in good hands. A woman complained about the new lighting on Gateway and said it is not bright enough. It was noted that the lighting on Gateway is not fully completed which should brighten up the area when finished. 6 Meeting Minutes Neighborhood Forum with Commissioner Fisher Boynton Beach, Florida June 19, 2000 Discussion next took place on the number of accidents at Gateway and 1-95 that occur and Chief Gage stated a great many of these result from people running red lights. A woman in the audience pointed out that they don't always receive the published communications from the City on what is going on. Also, she requested that when the Visions, Views and City News comes out that it also be in Spanish. Mr. Fisher said that this could pose a problem with mailing and how do you determine who gets a Spanish edition, as opposed to an English edition. City Manager Bressner suggested that a smaller quantity could be printed up in Spanish. Commissioner Fisher asked City Manager Bressner if he wished to address any comments brought up this evening. Mr. Bressner stated it is important to focus on assets in terms of facilities, people and resoumes. He also felt that the issues raised tonight were serious issues that need to be addressed. Problems are not always solved just by throwing money in, but involves engaging people and bringing them together to deal with issues. Mr. Bressner noted that the City needs to do some outreach to the School District in order to get Rolling Green School opened up and the School could be the answer to the needs in the area. Also, the shortage of meeting places in the City needs to be addressed. Mr. Bressner informed the audience that there is active discussion taking place on replacing the Royal Palm Clubhouse. Commissioner Fisher also stated that anyone can call him with any problem or issue they would like to discuss. A woman asked how closely does the City work with the Chamber of Commerce. Chief Gage reported that many staff members routinely attend Chamber functions. She also asked if the City was involved in any programs that the Chamber sponsors? City Manager Bressner reported that the City will becoming involved in a mentoring program, which will allow city employees and private industry employees an opportunity to participate in a mentoring program with the schools. Mr. Bressner felt there is a renewed partnership between the City and Chamber of Commerce. Also, Mr. Bressner noted that the Literacy Foundation has a program where volunteers assist with helping not only children, but adults learn to read. Mr. Bressner stated he is putting together an assets map of the City to identify all the programs, service, activities, etc. that are offered within the City. Mr. Friedland thanked Commissioner Fisher for bringing this program to Village Royale on the Green. 7 Meeting Minutes Neighborhood Forum with Commissioner Fisher Boynton Beach, Florida June 19,2000 There being no fudherbusiness, the meeting adjourned at8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 8