February 2012 General
Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations
General Meeting
February 14, 2012
City Hall- 8th Floor Conference Room
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by First Vice President Marilyn Mammano at 7:30 pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Attendance: First Vice President Marilyn Mammano took the roll and declared a quorum.
3. Minutes: The review and acceptance of the January 10, 2012 minutes were tabled.
4. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Madeline Klein distributed the Report showing an ending balance as of January 31, 2012 of $7,370.66. The Report was unanimously approved upon a motion by Betty Shelley and a second by Jackson Boren.
5. FLPD Police Report: Captain Lou Alvarez provided this month’s report. He reported that overall crime was declining but daytime burglaries were up. He stated that special details had been implemented in the past month and proved effective. He urged neighborhoods to contact NAT Teams for faster responses about solutions to neighborhood problems and answers to questions.
6. Guest Speaker: Assistant City Manager Susan Torriente made a presentation about the Draft Regional Climate Action Plan developed by the Southeast Florida Regional Compact Climate Committee consisting of representatives from Monroe, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. These four counties recognized the importance of planning for the effect of climate change and realized that they could have more impact in Tallahassee if they banded together as a Compact. The Compact represents over 5.6 million residents. Fort Lauderdale alone has seven miles of beaches and 300 miles of canals. The Plan is a five year plan that seeks to integrate efforts through existing agencies and infrastructures. There are about 100 recommendations in the Plan, including the implementation and funding of projects. The Plan is in the comment stage through March 16, 2012 and Ms. Torriente urged the neighborhoods to review and make comments. The Plan can be found at www.southeastfloridaclimatecompact.org.
Paramedic Chief Joanne Lorber also made a presentation at the meeting about emergency preparedness for county residents at risk. She distributed an informational handout that can be found at www.broward.org/AtRisk/Pages/Default.aspx. Ms. Mammano also raised the importance of registering with the City’s Code Red project which can be accessed from the City’s website.
7. Committee Reports:
• Centennial Time Capsule: Corresponding Secretary Donna Mergenhagen reported that the date to close the time capsule has been moved by the City to Memorial Day. The capsule will be displayed in the lobby of City Hall and is intended to be opened in 25 years. Individuals, neighborhoods, businesses, schools, organizations will be encouraged to participate. The cost of submissions will be kept low to encourage participation: submissions the size of a business envelope can be purchased for $5 and the size of a standard manila envelope (approx. 9 X 12) can be purchased for $15. Ideas for the types of things that can be submitted will be included in fliers and on a website. It is envisioned that there will be a 30 day window for the acceptance of submissions. CFLCA s waiting for the green light from the City to proceed.
• Charter Revision: Recording Secretary Rochelle Golub stated that at the last Committee possible revisions to the provisions on elections was discussed. She restated that the Committee was contemplating potential changes in four areas as directed by the Commission.
• Membership: Ms. Mammano stated that membership applications and renewals were being resent.
8. For the Good of the Community. CLFCA took time to remember Richard Mancuso who died after a long illness. Ms. Shelley spoke and others contributed stories and memories and observations about Mr. Mancuso. He was praised as a man of dignity who was dedicated to making the City a better place for all its residents. He worked tirelessly on the Ad Hoc Code Reform Project and it was suggested that the resulting document be dedicated to him. The position of Chairman of Committees of CLFCA was created for him because of his interest and involvement of Council activities. At the service held for him, his love of music and poetry and his songwriting was highlighted with a recording of a song he had written played at the end of the service. The City has made a proclamation for Richard and has named him Citizen of the Year. Those interested can make contributions to the Richard J. Fox Foundation for Prostate Cancer, P.O. Box 25581, Washington, D.C., 20027.
In addition, a number of upcoming community events were announced including the Victoria Park Spring Clean Up on March 10 which is the same day as the City of Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Event sponsors were encouraged to send electronic fliers to Ms. Mergenhagen who would email them to all of the Council members for distribution to the neighborhoods.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Rochelle Golub
Recording Secretary