HAAB Minutes 10/28/2010
Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board
October 28, 2010
6:00 p.m.
RECEIVED
APR 2 8 2011
Board of County Commissioners
Members Present: Chairman Manuel Gonzalez; Vice-Chairman, Mario Ortiz; David Correa; Alejandro.
Balan; F. Williams Forbes, Renato Fernandez Fiala
Hiller
Henning
Members Absent-Excused: Ileana Ramos, Valarie Maxwell. Unexcused: Zeny Rivera Coyle
Coletta
Others Present: Mike Sheffield, County Manager's Office; Barbetta Hutchinson, Office of Management
and Budget
Call to Order: Chairman Manuel Gonzalez called the meeting to order at 6:00, noting that a quorum was
established.
Approve the Meeting Agenda: Renato Fernandez motioned to approve the agenda, Mario Ortiz
seconded. The motion was carried 6-0.
Approval of Minutes from the Meeting of September 30, 2010: Renato Fernandez motioned to
approve the minutes, David Correa seconded. The motion carried 6-0.
New Business:
Presentation by Jim Wall: As the Business Development Director of Southwest Florida Workforce
Development Board, Jim Wall gave a powerPoint presentation about the "best kept secret in Southwest
Florida". The organization has 24 regions and have established career and service centers throughout
Southwest Florida. Jim's region includes Collier, Charlotte, Lee, Hendry & Glades counties. They are
more than an employment office. They provide training for financially disadvantaged citizens with a
priority on veterans. The centers also match skills to open positions, teach CPR to children through the
summit youth program and pay for on-the-job training for participants.
In addition, they sponsor a poster contest for Sth grade students where the top 12 pictures become part
of a calendar published by the center. William Forbes will get in contact with the Immokalee
Foundation to contact Jim's organization for possible collaboration.
Old Business:
Law Enforcement Report: Manny Gonzalez stated that there was no meeting scheduled for this month
and the next meeting will be held on November 4,2010. The topic of this meeting will be gang
awareness, juvenile crime, gang recruitment, interpreting graffiti and the drug market. He asked that
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this issue be given the majority of the meeting time at the next meeting in order to be able to fully
discuss these issues.
Advisory Board Attendance Policy: Mike Sheffield passed out the ordinance governing attendance to
the group for their review. Regarding members with excessive absences, Mike Sheffield said that the
way this is usually handled is that the liaison will call the person with the attendance problem to find out
if they still want to be on the committee or if they would like to resign. Mike will ask Tatiana to call
Zetty Rivera and find out if she still has interest in being on the committee.
Selection of Chair and Vice-Chair: Manuel Gonzalez told the group that he had come up with a new
method of selecting the chair and the vice-chair for the group. He doesn't think the current method of
the Vice-Chair automatically becoming the Chair for the next year is necessarily the best method. He
explained that each member would get two votes for each seat, the liaison would tally the votes and the
new chair and vice-chair would be decided. He also passed out sample ballots. The group talked about
this and decided to table this item until the next meeting.
HAAB Meetings: Manuel Gonzalez said that he felt the committee had too much time off and would
like to change the meeting dates in order to fit a meeting in November. The group decided that they
would meet November 18th at the Golden Gate Community Center on the Parkway instead of on the
main campus. Renato Fernandez suggested that the group meet in Golden Gate at least twice a year so
that the citizens may have the opportunity to attend the meetings. He said the Board needs to find a
way to involve community leaders into bringing problems to the group so that they will know what to
suggest to the Board of County Commissioners. Mike Sheffield will contact Commissioner Henning and
other community leaders (such as Victor Valdez and Chuck Moelke) and invite them to this meeting to
talk about problems. He will also contact Judge Ramiro Manalich.
Member Comment: Mario Ortiz said he is frustrated because every meeting they hear wonderful
reports, have a very educational experience, but nothing goes back to the community. Alejandro Balan
said that with only nine members, how many topics can they address? He also said they need to find a
way to find out what the people are interested in. Manuel Gonzalez said that the BCC is aware of every
topic they discuss. Where is the onus of the Board, the Advisory Board or the individuals?
Adjourn: Renato Fernandez motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:S9 p.m. and David Correa seconded.
The motioned carried by a group vote of 6-0.
Next Meeting: The next meeting of the HAAB will be held on November 18, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the
Golden Gate Community Center on the Parkway.
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