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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Commission On Children And Youth - 10/10/1994 V MINUTES COMMISSION ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH October 10, 1994 MEMBERS PRESENT: Grace Rank, Mary Strickland, Burma Barnett, Paige Dinn, Juliana Rivera, Monica Stender, Jeff Jung, Dr. Maria L. Garza, Veronica Trevino, Orlando Tones, Cynthia Hurst, Dr. Philip Rhoades, Paula Rosenstein, Robin West MEMBERS ABSENT: Carl Lewis, Rudy Sosa STAFF PRESENT: Malcolm Matthews, Director of Park & Recreation, Judy Dreyer, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER: The regular monthly meeting of the Commission on Children and Youth was called to order at 5:00 in the Committee Room at City Hall by Interim Chairman Rank. She noted that a quorum was present. ACTION ON MINUTES: Dr. Garza moved that the minutes of the regular meeting of September 21st be approved as received in the mail. Ms. Stender seconded and the motion passed unanimously. SELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN: Dr. Garza moved that Mrs. Rank be nominated as Chairperson. Mrs. Stender seconded. There were no other nominations and Mrs. Rank was unanimously elected Chairperson for the 94-95 term. Chairperson Rank called for nominations for Vice-Chairperson. Mr. Jung nominated Ms. Strickland. Ms. Trevino seconded. There were no other nominations and Ms. Strickland was unanimously elected Vice-Chairperson for the 94-95 term. RECOGNITION OF GUESTS: Mr. Matthews recognized Mayor Mary Rhodes, who was present to briefly address the group. She thanked them for volunteering their time, stating the Commission had come about as a result of the Mayor's Coalition on Crime Prevention. She assured the members that the Council would not be dictating to them, but would want to hear their recommendations. She then left the meeting. DISCUSSION OF DAYTIME CURFEW: Mr. Matthews passed out copies of the proposed ordinance which would establish a curfew for minors between the 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on school days. Lt. Carlos Rios, Corpus Christi Police Department Juvenile Division, reviewed the amendments to the ordinance, stating that Police Chief Garrett supports the amendments as he feels they will reduce juvenile violence and crime. He continued that currently minors cannot be considered as truant because they are not in school or at work during those hours and cannot be picked up by the police. The revisions also make parents more responsible for their child's actions. SCANNED 4 In answer to a question, he assured them that all of the districts are in contact in the Police Department to advise them of testing days, vacation, year-round school, etc. so that minors are not picked up unintentionally. Ms. Dinn expressed concern that the revisions will generate a larger number of youth being picked up and questioned if sufficient facilities existed to handle them. Lt. Rios explained that parents have the option of picking up their children, rather than leaving them at the center. Dr. Garza pointed out that La Raza currently has the infrastructure in place to handle the youth that cannot be handled at the center. Mr. Torres passed out information showing statistics that the Police Department is aggressively working to insure that minors are being held accountable, noting that there has been a total of 737 offenses from January - September, 1994. Dr. Garza expressed concern that run-aways are not going through their agency. Discussion followed on the definition of"truancy." Dr. Rhoades pointed that this is the same segment of the population that was targeted with the 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 am. curfew and questioned if there were not other alternatives to solve the problem and turn expelled students into good citizens. Ms. West pointed out that they should not lose sight of what was being requested of them as a Commission, noting the Police Department had requested their assistance in strengthening the ordinance. Mr. Jung questioned if it would be possible to delay the first reading of the ordinance until they had more time to provide their input. Mr. Matthews responded that Chief Garrett has expressed an interest in moving forward with these amendments as soon as possible, and encouraged members to fax any statements to the Park and Recreation Department and he would see that they are forwarded to the Chief. After a lengthy discussion Mr. Jung made a motion that a letter expressing the Commission's concerns with the daytime curfew be sent to Chief Garrett, with those concerns being forwarded to the Park and Recreation Department for incorporation into the letter; that the Commission request the first reading of the ordinance be delayed and Chief Garrett be invited to attend the next Commission meeting. Dr. Garza seconded. Chairperson Rank called for comments from the audience; hearing none, she called for the motion which passed unanimously. RECOMMENDATION ON YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE: Mr. Matthews stated the Commission's membership called for a youth representative who would serve one term and be 18-21 years of age. Mr. Jung stated he had a name he would like to place in nomination, however, he had not spoken with the individual, and felt he should inquire if the Del Mar student would be interested in serving prior to submitting his name to the Commission. J Vice-Chairperson Strickland moved that the item be tabled until the November meeting, and names and a brief history on the individual be faxed to the department so that they might be included with their packet. Mr. Jung seconded and the motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION OF ETHICS ORDINANCE: Mr. Matthews passed out copies of the Ethics Ordinance, explaining that it governs all advisory boards/commissions, Council members and employees and action on the item was not necessary. He asked that members review it, as they will not be allowed to vote on issues that come before the Commission in which they have an interest. DISCUSSION OF ABSENCE POLICY: Mr. Matthews explained that the different boards and commissions establish their own absence policy. He passed out a copy of the one adopted by the Park and Recreation Advisory Committee, stating it was being presented as an example and encouraged them to feel free to set their own policy. Chairperson Rank asked members to review the sample, as it would be an agenda item for November. APPOINTMENTS TO SUBCOMMITTEES: Chairperson Rank stated two other subcommittees needed to be established; those being the Annual Plan and Grants. Vice-Chairperson Strickland volunteered to chair the Annual Plan subcommittee. Other members who volunteered to serve were Ms. Hurst, Mrs. Barnett, Ms. Trevino and Ms. Stender. Mr. Jung volunteered to chair the Grants subcommittee. Mrs. Rosenstein, Vice-Chairperson Strickland, Ms. West, and Dr. Rhoades also volunteered to serve. Ms. West stated she would step down from the Legislative subcommittee and Mr. Tones volunteered to serve in her place. DISCUSSION ON LEGISLATIVE ISSUES: Ms. Dinn, Chairperson of the Legislative subcommittee, passed out information on several legislative issues, giving a brief report on each of them. In response to her question, Mr. Matthews explained that they are issues, rather than legislation, and until a Bill number has been assigned to them, it would be premature to present them to the City Council. She also reported that the State Commission on Children has completed its work. Mr. Matthews stated this could be an agenda item for the November meeting. Chairperson Rank advised members to contact Ms. Dinn if they have any input on the Family Code. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: None. CURRENT CONCERNS: Ms. Dinn spoke in favor of the juvenile detention facility which will be on the upcoming bond election. Vice-Chairperson Strickland stated she is currently drafting a workbook on the Commission on Children and Youth. She also spoke in favor of Vision 2000, stating the first meetings will be held October 20th and 21st. She continued by stating that the document to come from the (1110 11111 meetings will cover all phases of government and is meant to be a working document. Members were encouraged to participate in any of the meetings. Chairperson Rank she was extremely pleased to be serving on the Commission, as it is only the second city in the state to have such a commission with multi-disciplinary representation from the community and praised the Mayor for her foresight. HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC: None. ADJOURNMENT: As there was no further business, Chairperson Rank declared the meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. a4s4:1VC- Malcolm Matthews, Director Park & Recreation Department oanunsty a