HAAB Minutes 04/02/1992 R
Minutes
Hispanic Affairs
Advisory Board
Meeting
April 2, 1992
Collier County Board of County Commissioners
Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board
Minutes of Meeting
April 2, 1992
6:40 p.m.
Members Present
Nelson A. Munoz
Gloria E. Dominguez
Bernardo Garcia
Eduardo Galvan
Antonio Perez-Benitoa
Jaime Gutierrez
Melinda Paniagua Riddle
Members Absent
Zac Lucio
Jorge Perez Avila
Staff Present
Ramiro Manalich
Staff Liaison to Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board
The meeting of the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board was held at
6:40 p.m. on April 2, 1992 in the East half of the Board Room,
Third Floor, Building F, Collier county Government Center.
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Mr. Eduardo Galvan, Acting Chairman of the Hispanic Affairs
Advisory Board called the meeting to order. He welcomed all
present including our Guest Speaker Mr. Thomas Whitecotton,
Director, Collier County Human Resources. The Board members
approved the minutes of January 27, 1992. A motion was made to
alter the order of the agenda by listening first to our Guest
Speaker. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
Guest Speaker
Mr. Thomas Whitecotton, Director of the Collier County Human
Resource Department stated that 300 people were hired in
FY 1989/90 and 150 positions were filled in FY 1990/91 at all
levels. He informed the Board that hiring activity this fiscal
year has been slow and is lower than last fiscal year. He also
presented the following information:
Outreach Activities
The Human Resources Department has established several plans to
encourage qualified minorities to apply for vacant positions.
Examples included the PIMA (Plans to Increase Minority
Applicants) network, sending postings to minority organization's,
meeting with a representative from the Human Resources Department
when an applicant applies for a position to ensure the
application is properly completed.
Hirinq Freeze
The Board has adopted a plan to eliminate 27 positions, but all
efforts are being made to place these employees in other
positions. Mr. Whitecotton also informed the H.A.A.B that there
are few vacancies which combined with the cut-backs, have
hampered the recruitment process.
The H.A.A.B. members and public were concerned about the numbers
of minorities in managerial positions and it was suggested that
an equal opportunity plan package be presented to the Board of
County Commissioners.
Mr. Tribble from the Black Advisory Board distributed a copy of
the proposal for the establishment of the Collier County
Department of Equal Opportunity which has been presented to the
C.C.B. of C.C. Since this proposal was unknown by the majority
of the H.A.A.B. it was suggested that the members review the
proposal and present their concerns at the next scheduled
meeting. A motion was made to create a subcommittee to review
the proposal for equal opportunities and to attend the Black
Advisory Board meeting and workshop, and also to report to the
H.A.A.B at its next scheduled meeting. It seconded and passed
unanimousJy.
Mr. Bernardo Garcia and Ms. Melinda Paniagua Riddle volunteered
to carry out this assignment. Mr. Galvan thanked Mr. Whitecotton
for his presentation.
Mr. Perez-Benitoa excused from part of meetinq
Mr. Perez-Benitoa was excused from the meeting at 8:15 p.m. due
to illness. Mr. Perez-Benitoa therefore did not vote on the
approval of minutes, the two motions regarding the Valdes/
Rodriguez documents, the regular meeting date motion, the motion
for continuing part of the agenda to the next meeting and the
adjournment motion.
Approval of Aqenda and Minutes
The minutes dated January 27, 1992 were approved with a
correction on Mr. Garcia's motion to reject any more documents
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presented by Mr. Valdes and Mr. Rodriguez to read "rejected" not
"approved."
Chairman's Report
Mr. Eduardo Galvan informed the Board that he attended a meeting
in Immokalee with Judge Turner about Juvenile delinquency. He
reported that a large percentage of Hispanics are driving without
a driver's license. He also informed the Board that the schools
are preparing students to obtain licenses. It was suggested to
inform Mr. Jorge Avila, Chairperson of the law enforcement
committee about this matter.
staff Report
Mr. Ramiro Manalich will report on the Hatch Act at our next
scheduled meeting. He also read about the interpretation of
public documents (See attached memorandum dated 04/02/92).
Mr. Manalich info~med Board members that Mr. Jorge Perez Avila
was excused from attending the H.A.A.B meeting. Mr. Mafialich
also welcomed and introduced Mr. Tribble from the Black Advisory
Board and Mr. Whitecotton, Director of the Collier County Human
Resources Department.
Mr. Manalich consulted with Mr. Cuyler regarding the
Rodriguez/Valdes documents and it was stated that the documents
presented to the H.A.A.B by Mr. Valdes and Mr. Rodriguez should
be considered public record. Ms. Melinda Paniagua Riddle made
the following motions:
1. Move that the Board establish future policy of not accepting
documents from the public unless they clearly relate to the
business of the Hispanic Board or the Hispanic Board votes
to o~herwise accept the documents.
2. Move that all past records/documents involving Valdes/
Rodriguez be rejected and returned to Mr. Valdes and
Mr. Rodriguez as not pertaining to official business of the
Board.
The first motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The second
motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Mr. Mafialich
informed the Board that he would consult with the County Attorney
because, as custodian of the public records under the Public
Records Law, it was his opinion that the Valdes and Rodriguez
documents would have to remain in the Hispanic Board file as
public records.
Old Business
Mr. Jaime Gutierrez presented a field inspection report on
Mrs. Lozano's residence located at 5312 Texas Avenue, Naples, FL.
(See attached photocopy)
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Subcommittee Reports
Subcommittee reports were not presented at this meeting.
Mr. Perez-Benitoa will present his report at the next scheduled
meeting.
1. A motion was made to have a meeting every fourth Thursday
of the month.
2. To have the meeting held alternatively in Naples/Immokalee
at 6:30 and 7:00.
3. To listen to Subcommittee Reports and old business at our
next scheduled meeting. All three motions were seconded and
passed unanimously.
New Business
Ms. Gloria Dominguez presented to the Board members a derogative
article about Hispanics in Collier County which was published in
the Naples Daily News. (See attached photocopy). Ms. Melinda P.
Riddle informed the Board that she had seen the article but that
she did not feel the timing was appropriate for Board action on
the matter.
Ms. Mirna Perez suggested that all public speakers should have a
time frame for each topic to be discussed.
Mr. Frank Rodriguez of "The Hispano" newspaper was of the opinion
that public participation is needed and that meeting of the
H.A.A.B. should be scheduled in different Hispanic communities.
Next Meetj-nq
The next meeting of the H.A.A.B. is scheduled for
at 6:30 p.m., Building F, Third Floor Board Room.
was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
April 23, 1992
The meeting
Respectfully Submitted,
Gloria E. Dominguez, Secretary
Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board
Approved by the Board on
, 1992
Eduardo Galvan, Acting Chairman
Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board
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