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HAAB Minutes 05/22/2008 May 22, 2008 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY HISPANIC AFFAIRS ADVISORY BOARD Naples, Florida, May 22, 2008 LET IT BE REMEMBERED that the Collier County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Committee in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 6:00 PM in REGULAR SESSION at Administrative Building "F", 3rd Floor, Collier County Government Center, Naples, Florida with the following members present: Chairman: James Van Fleet Luis Alejandro Bernal Raymond Cabral David Correa Renato F. Fernandez Manuel Gonzalez Valaree D. Maxwell Cosme Perez Ernesto Velasquez ALSO PRESENT: Mike Sheffield, Assistant to the County Manager Collier County Government Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board Meeting Agenda May 22, 2008 6:00 P.M. I. Introduction A. Call to Order -Dr. James A. Van Fleet, Chairman B. Approval of the April 24, 2008 HAAS Meeting minutes II. Old Business A. Discussion/Strategy Regarding Last Month's Elections Meeting B. Education Report-Jim Van Fleet C. Law Enforcement Report-Manny Gonzalez III. New Business A. Discussion Regarding Summer Recess B. Powers and duties of advisory boards (letter from the Commissioner Henning) IV. Comments/Announcements Congratulations to Chairman Dr. Jim Van Fleet for being selected the Outstanding Advisory Committee Member for May 2008 V. Public Comment VI. Adiourn- (Next meeting date: June 26, 2008) May 22, 2008 I. Introduction A. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chairman James Van Fleet at 6:01 PM A quorum was established. B. Approval of the April 24, 2008 HAAB Meeting Minutes Renato Fernandez moved to approve the Minutes as submitted. Second by Raymond Cabral. Carried unanimously, 8-0. (6:04 PM - Ernesto Veldsquez arrived.) II. Old Business A. Discussion/Strategy Regarding Last Month's Elections Meeting Chairman Van Fleet asked the members to comment on the April Meeting which featured a presentation from Board of Elections and representatives from the Collier County League of Women Voters and the Democratic and Republican parties: . Recommended increasing funds used for educational out-reach programs and to recruit Hispanic voters for employment by the Board of Elections . Committee should make suggestions or present a plan to Board of Elections to assist them in the future in order to register more Hispanic voters. . Latinos who do not carry Latin surnames make it difficult to be included in the Hispanic voting commwlity. . A possible reason for the registration apathy is because there are no Hispanic candidates running for office. Chairman Van Fleet stated a formal motion had been made during the last School Board meeting to increase the School Board's membership from 5 to 7, and this issue had also been discussed by the BCe. The individuals to fill the newly-created positions would be elected "at large" - not restricted to a particular District. He stated if this does occur, it would present an opportunity for greater representation of the Hispanic Community on the School Board. Mike Sheffield stated he would report on this situation to the Committee at its next meeting. Manuel Gonzalez mentioned a UCLA study conducted, in conjunction with the University of California at Irvine, which focused on the Mexican community because of the difficulty of this group to assimilate into life in the United States. One of the problem areas in getting the entire Hispanic community interested in voting will be in motivating the Mexican-American community which is the largest group within the Hispanic community. He stated this is a concern throughout the Country and not just in Collier County. 11 was suggested that a program could be developed to assist every immigrant in obtaining this information concerning their civic responsibilities and the American political system. Chairman Van Fleet stated the COWlty'S Department of Housing and Human Services has published a pamphlet in Spanish which addresses these subjects. 2 May 22, 2008 B. Education Report - Chairman Van Fleet Chairman Van Fleet stated the "Grow Your Own Teachers" Initiative is active in Gulf Coast High School, Golden Gate High School, Immokalee High School, and Palmetto Ridge High School. Of the students participating, 145 were Caucasian, I II were Hispanic and 10 were Black and/or Haitian. It is hoped that more schools will participate in the program. Career and Professional Education Program ("CAPE") is designed to give students both an academic education and career-specific instruction to enable graduating students to obtain an above entry-level job. Chairman Van Fleet stated Edison College, the Lorenzo Walker Academy, and Hodges University are participating locally. Chairman Van Fleet also mentioned the current Diversity and ESL Programs and that participation in these programs has decreased by over 500 students during the 2007-08 School Year. The goal of this program is to assist students to bring their English language skills up from "street English" to an academic level suitable for the classroom. Guest Speaker: Randy Pines, Chief Negotiator for Collier County's Support Personnel stated the School Board is rushing to privatize the custodial staff positions, and of the 250 to 300 positions at stake, approximately 95% to 97% are filled by Hispanics. He stated the process utilized by the School Board to implement this privatization was "secret" because no information was available to the public although previous requests for information had been made to the School Board whose representatives maintained "to my knowledge, there were no plans to privatize custodial services." However, RFPs were being prepared at the same time. The custodial staff has been told they will not have jobs after July and will lose their retirement benefits. He asked for support for an independent study to be conducted on the social and economic impact that losing these positions would have on Collier County vs. the projected savings of eliminating the custodial staff. He cited similar plans had been enacted in North Carolina which resulted, during the first year of implementation, in a savings of$120,000 and a significant deficit in subsequent years. In Dayton, Ohio, the contract was broken at a cost of $1.5 million because that School District lost over $1 million more per year under privatization than it had previously. Mr. Pines asked for support from the Hispanic CommWlity specifically to create a blue-ribbon panel to conduct a study. He stated his company is willing to pay for a forensic audit in order to obtain this study and that Charlotte County has instituted a collaborative study concerning the same issue. Chairman Van Fleet stated the consensus of the Committee was to support his request. 3 May 22, 2008 III. New Business B. Powers and Duties of Advisory Boards (letter from Commissioner Henning) Chairman Van Fleet stated there are over 400 people participating in the 50 Advisory Boards under the direction of Board of County Commissioners, and each member was sent a copy of Commissioner Henning's letter which stated, in part, "the purpose of this letter is to request all Advisory Committee Members review both the Ordinance creating your committee together with the by-laws and guidelines adopted and to adhere to the powers and duties assigned to your Committee." Mike Sheffield distributed copies of the letter in addition to copies of the Governing Ordinance for the HAAB and the Rules and Meeting Procedures to each of the Members for their review. A. Discussion Regarding Summer Recess Chairman Van Fleet stated a meeting is scheduled for June. He stated the BCC and other Advisory Committees usually take a recess during the months of July and August. He asked the members for their opinion on whether or not to take a summer recess. Ernesto Velasquez moved to suspend Committee meetings for July and August. Second by Raymond Cabral. Carried unanimously, 9-0. II. Old Business B. Law Enforcement Report - Manuel Gonzalez Mr. Gonzalez stated there are 75 positions still open in the Sheriffs Department and suggested that the Committee Members should encourage those who may be interested to apply, especially if they have a college degree and no criminal record. He further stated the Criminal Investigative Division will make a presentation during the Sheriffs Department's meeting on May 29th which he will attend and will report back to the Committee at the Jillle meeting. IV. Comments/Announcements Congratulations were extended to Chairman VanFleet for being selected as "Outstanding Advisory Committee Member" for May, 2008. Cosme Perez asked to discuss the Advisory Board's powers and duties. He stated the duties included to "identify and evaluate problems within the Hispanic Community," and "review and recommend ways to ensure open communication between the Hispanic Community and the County government," and "the Advisory Board shall provide periodic reports directly to the BCC, etc." He stated the problem that Mr. Pines brought before the Committee is a community concern and suggested the HAAB should make a recommendation to the BCC regarding the issue of privatization and the actions ofthe 4 May 22, 2008 School Board. Chairman Van Fleet stated County govemment falls under the jurisdiction of the Board of County Commissioners. He stated the HAAB Members may make their individual feelings known at the BCC meeting and the issue may be pursued by Members within their other arenas of activity. Emails may be sent to BCC members by private individuals. Raymond Cabral suggested sending a statement to the BCC regarding the HAAB Members' concerns. Mike Sheffield stated the HAAB is an Advisory Committee appointed by the BCC while the School Board is a separately-elected govemment body. The HAAB does not have an authority over the School Board. Chairman Van Fleet stated he would draft a short note to the BCC conveying the concerns of the HAAB. Ernesto Velasquez moved to approve Chairman Van Fleet's suggestion to send a note to the BCC. Second by Renato Fernandez. Carried unanimously, 9-0. V. Public Comment - None VI. Next Meetine: June 28, 2008 There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was concluded by order of the Chair at 7:33 P.M. COLLIER COUNTY HISPANIC AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE James Van Fleet, Chairman These Minutes were approved by the Board/Committee on as presented or a3 amended 5