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HAAB Minutes 01/22/2009 R January 22,2009 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY HISPANIC AFFAIRS ADVISORY BOARD Naples, Florida, January 22,2009 LET IT BE REMEMBERED that the Collier County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 6:00 PM in REGULAR SESSION in Building "F," 3rd floor, of the Government Complex, Naples, Florida, with the following Members present: Chairman: Valaree D. Maxwell Luis Alejandro Bernal Raymond Cabral David Correa Renato F. Fernandez (Excused) Manuel Gonzalez (Excused) Cosme Perez Ernesto Velasquez ALSO PRESENT: Mike Sheffield, Assistant to the County Manager Collier County Government Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board Meeting Agenda January 22, 2009 6:00 P.M. I. Introduction A. Call to Order-Valaree Maxwell, Chairperson B. Approval of the November 20, 2008 HAAB Meeting minutes II. Old Business A. Education Report-Valaree Maxwell III. New Business A. Discussion Regarding Committee Assignments for 2009 IV. Comments/Announcements A. The County is still seeking applications for the current HAAB vacancy B. Advisory Board Member Mileage Reimbursement- On 11/18/08, the BCC passed Resolution 2008-341 authorizing the reimbursement of mileage expenses for advisory committee members who travel in excess of 20-miles round trip to attend regularly scheduled advisory committee meetings. (See Instructions for reimbursement in agenda packet). V. Public Comment VI. Adiourn- (Next meeting date: February 26, 2009) January 22, 2009 I. Introduction A. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chairman Valaree Maxwell at 6:02 PM A quorum was established. Chairman Maxwell stated she was honored to have been asked by the Members to serve as the Chairman for 2009. B. Approval of the November 20,2008 Meeting Minutes Cosme Perez moved to approve the Minutes as submitted. Second by Raymond Cabral. Carried unanimously, 5-0. Chairman Maxwell stated the Minutes would be signed by Manuel Gonzalez who had served as Acting Chair of the November meeting. II. Old Business A. Education Report - Valaree Maxwell Chairman Maxwell referenced a list of potential Subcommittees (Attachment III) distributed to the Members and stated she would like to serve on the HealthlMental Health and the Education Subcommittees because she is familiar with both topics. She stated her report would focus on a presentation made in June, 2008, and on a letter written by the late Chairman James Van Fleet urging the community to become involved with and support "Drug Free Collier" which has become involved in drug prevention. She announced that in February, 2009, "Drug Free Collier" will sponsor an interactive workshop, "Guiding Good Choices," for the parents of students in 4th through 8th grades. The goal is to educate a minimum of 150 parents. She gave a synopsis of the Workshop topics. In addition to the "Drug Free Collier" pamphlet, Chairman Maxwell distributed a glossary of2,500 drug-related slang (street language) terms. Also discussed was the ability of students to obtain prescription drugs. Concerns were expressed regarding the medical community's preference to prescribe medication rather than explore other treatment options for medical conditions, i.e., attention-deficit disorder, and that elementary school teachers are "diagnosing" the disorder without being trained. Chairman Maxwell cited an article from the Naples Daily News concerning drug use which provided statistics from the Collier County Medical Examiner's Office. There were 53 recorded drug-related deaths in 2008 with an additional 40 classified as "un- determined" pending toxicology test results. Ofthe recorded deaths, 5 were from the Hispanic community. 2 January 22, 2009 She stated she wrote a personal letter of support to Steve Donovan who is encouraging the Collier County School Board to perform drug tests on each student who drives to school in order to curtail drug use on school campuses. She encouraged the Members to also write offering support for his proposal. (Ernesto Veldsquez arrived at 6:22 PM) Chairman Maxwell mentioned there are more grants for drug intervention than for drug prevention. Drug use is a serious problem within the Collier County School District and she encouraged the Members to help publicize the Workshop within the Hispanic community. She is in the process of creating an intervention program at the International Learning Academy, utilizing the proceeds of a play to be produced. Students at the Academy cannot graduate until they have participated in a drug awareness program. III. New Business A. Discussion Regarding Committee Assignments for 2009 Mike Sheffield stated he researched Minutes from prior meetings and compiled a list of Committees and potential topics for consideration by the Members, and distributed copies of the list to the Members. He suggested periodic reports could be presented by the Members during the course of the year. The topics included: . HealthlMental Health . Communications . Education . Law Enforcement . J obs/Economy . Housing . Safety . Elections/20 1 0 Census. Mr. Sheffield stated one of the primary goals of the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board was to: . ensure that government is communicating effectively with the Hispanic community, and . that the community understands the governmental process. That is one of the reasons why the HAAB was created and is also part of its governing Ordinance. He reminded the Members that Charles Mohlke, who had addressed the Board, stressed the importance of being counted during the Census process. 3 January 22,2009 He further stated the "Committee" would consist of one member and meetings would not need to be held. There was discussion concerning the use of the term "Committee" and a suggestion was made to change the term to "topics of interests" for individual reports. David Correa stated his choice was Elections/2010 Census. Ernesto Velasquez moved to approve the eight topics of interest as submitted. Members wanted to take part in a discussion before a second was made. (A "point of order" was made regarding procedure.) Ernesto Velasquez restated his previous motion. Second by David Correa. Mike Sheffield stated the purpose of the reports was to bring information to the HAAB. The Members could decide if a specific issue should be examined further or brought to the attention of the Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Perez noted there had been problems in the past regarding submitting reports or recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners. He stated the issues had been exposed already and were in the public domain. Discussion ensued concerning the level of communication between the Hispanic community and the government, and vice versa. Motion carried, 5-"Yes"/1-"No." Cosme Perez was opposed. Luis Bernal agreed one ofthe reasons for the creation of the HAAB was to improve communication between the BCC and the Hispanic community. He also agreed with Mr. Perez's point of view that efforts ofthe HAAB in the past have not been recognized by the BCC. David Correa stated most of the reports in the past were prepared solely for the use of the HAAB Members. If the Members felt there was merit, then an issue could be followed up and information obtained from experts in a particular area. He stated the HAAB had been involved in the migrant issue and the "English only" controversy. The purpose of the reports is not to change the law. Mike Sheffield pointed out in order to comply with the State's Sunshine Law regulation the Members cannot work together on a specific Report. Reports would be submitted only when there was something to report - there was no mandated schedule. He also stated two HAL\B Members cannot attend the same meeting together. Suggestions were made regarding assigning topics to Members. It was suggested that Code Enforcement issues could be assigned to one Member while the Housing portion could be assigned separately. 4 January 22,2009 Mr. Sheffield stated whenever a Member wished to make a report, the subject would be included it on the Agenda. Chairman Maxwell stated her preference for the topic of Education as well as Health/Mental Health. There was further discussion concerning how many recommendations had been made to the BCC in the past and the BCC's reaction. The concern was the BCC did not acknowledge the recommendations made. Mr. Sheffield stated that four letters had been sent to the BCC by HAAB since he had been appointed as the HAAB Staff Liaison. He stated the BCC does not always take action on each and every recommendation or report made by each and every Advisory Committee. The point was that the information had been presented to the BCC. Discussion ensued about Lee County procedures and the differences between how Lee and Collier's Advisory Boards communicated with their respective Boards of County Commissioners. The Sunshine Law regulation was discussed. Chairman Maxwell stated the HAAB was created in 1991 and the Ordinance was filed in Tallahassee on April 2, 1991. In 2007, the Ordinance was revised. She recommended the Members pick the topic that was of interest to each of them. Luis Bernal suggested the issues to be examined by the HAAB should be chosen because they affect the everyday life of the Hispanic citizens of Collier County. He asked which issues were being discussed by the BCC and stated recommendations from the HAAB should relate to the BCC' s agenda. Luis Bernal moved to request the Chairman and the Staff Liaison pick out relevant issues from the BCC's agenda to include on the HAAB Agenda. Discussion ensued. (A "point of order" regarding procedure was again brought to the attention ofthe Members.) Mr. Bernal restated his motion. Second by Ernesto Velasquez Discussion continued. It was suggested that the HAAB should narrow its focus by reviewing the BCC's Agenda subjects and determining how those issues affect the Hispanic community. Mike Sheffield pointed out that copies of the HAAB' s monthly minutes are sent to the BCC. The Commissioners are aware of what subjects were discussed during HAAB meetings. He stated comments from the Commissioners have been made to him concerning the HAAB minutes. 5 January 22, 2009 Again, procedures concerning the motion process were discussed. Chairman Maxwell asked Mr. Sheffield ifhe could present the Commissioners' comments to the HAAB. Mr. Sheffield stated the comments were verbal, not written, but he would relay whatever information was communicated to him in the future. It was pointed out that the BCC meets twice a month and a question was asked if the intent was to also hold two HAAB meetings each month. Mr. Bernal stated he wanted HAAB to be aware of what the BCC was discussing so the HAAB could decide to obtain further information about a particular subject. It was also suggested that Mike Sheffield send an email to the HAAB members informing them ofthe BCC's Agenda and for him to choose specific BCC topics for inclusion on the HAAB Agenda. Mr. Sheffield stated the BCC Agenda covers hundreds of issues and he was reluctant to decide which items would be of interest to the HAAB. He further stated the Agenda is available online for review by each HAAB Member and Members could email him with choices to be included on their next agenda. He stated the BCC's Agenda is finalized six days prior to each meeting. Mr. Bernal stated if an issue is important to the BCC, the HAAB should review it to determine if it has relevance for the Hispanic community. He suggested that, since the Chairman and Mr. Sheffield determine the HAAB agenda, they should choose the issues for inclusion on the agenda. There was further debate and discussion concerning his suggestion. Mr. Bernal stated that ifit was not possible to act on his motion, he would withdraw it. If it was too time-consuming, then he would not pursue it. Mr. Sheffield stated he has included various topics of interest for the HAAB on their agenda. Mr. Bernal withdrew his Motion. Mr. Bernatmoved to amend the HAAB agenda to add a topic concerning reports to the BCC. He further clarified that the topic would include a formal statement with four points: information to the BCC, recommendations to the BCC, no information, and no recommendations. There should be a formal statement from the HAAB to the BCC. Second by several members (at once - not audible on the recording). There was confusion over how the motion was stated. It was suggested that Mr. Bernal simplify his motion. It was also suggested to change the term "statement" to "resolution." Additional discussion took place. Another suggestion was to use the term "comment" instead of "resolution." 6 January 22, 2009 Mr. Bernal further stated it was HAAB's duty to inform the BCC of what it had, or had not, accomplished during its meeting. It would be a statement, not a "comment." An additional suggestion was made to revise the Agenda by adding an item entitled "Action Items to Bee." If there was a relevant item, it would be discussed during the meeting and a decision made regarding whether or not to forward the item to the Board of County Commissioners. A mock-up ofthe revised Agenda was reviewed by the Members. Mr. Bernal withdrew his previous motion. Mr. Bernal moved to amend the HAAB Agenda to include a final topic entitled "Action Items to BCC." Second by Ernesto Velasquez. Carried unanimously, 6-0. IV. Comments/Announcements A. The County is still seeking applications for the current vacancy on the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board. B. The Mileage Reimbursement form was distributed to the Members. Mike Sheffield reminded the Members that only mileage in excess of 20-miles round- trip to attend the meetings may be claimed. Chairman Maxwell suggested continuing the "topics of interest" subject to the next Agenda so that the members could complete their selections. She pointed out the importance of the topic of "Communications" to the HAAB. There was a suggestion concerning legal restrictions and whether or not an item could be brought to the media by the HAAB. Mike Sheffield clarified the purpose of the topic was to suggest better methods of fostering and improving communication with the Hispanic community by examining the Hispanic newspapers, radio and television, for example, should there be more public service announcements made on Spanish television or should Meeting Agendas be published in the Spanish newspapers. HAAB' s suggestions on the topic would be forwarded to the BCC to decide whether or not to take action. V. Public Comments/Public Speakers (None) VI. Next Meeting: February 26, 2009 7 January 22,2009 There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 8:15 P.M. COLLIER COUNTY HISPANIC AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Valaree D. Maxwell, Chairman These Minutes were approved by the Board/Committee on as presented or as amended 8