Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations
General Meeting
October 11, 2011
City Hall- 8th Floor Conference Room
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Doug Sterner at 7:35 pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Attendance: Corresponding Secty Donna Mergenhagen took the roll and declared a quorum.
3. Minutes: The minutes of the September 13, 2011 were unanimously approved upon a motion by Genia Ellis and a second by Betty Shelley.
4. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Madeline Klein distributed the Report showing an ending balance as of September 30, 2011 of $7,880.36. She announced that the Board had voted to deposit the accrued interest from the Ascencia CD in the checking account and roll over the CD. The Report was unanimously approved upon a motion by Genia Ellis and a second by Ron Centamore .
5. FLPD Police Report: Officer Luis Alvarez provided this month’s report. He stated that Chief Adderley had adopted “intelligence led policing” and had formed an ILP Group. ILP was implemented in Hillsborough County and after an initial rise in crime, incidents went way down. FLPD sent officer to review ILP in Hillsborough County. The theory behind ILP is that 60% of the crime is committed by 6% of criminal offenders labeled “prolific offenders”. The FLPD want the prolific offenders to know that FLPD knows them. Instead of investigating crime from an area basis, crime solving is approached based on information gathering and knowledge of the whereabouts of the prolific offenders Crime analysts work together in one room gathering information from street officers, neighborhoods, and informants. There is cooperation among area police departments fostered by the Tri-County Crime meetings about patterns of crime. He also announced that given the success of the use of portable finger printing tools, the FLPD had ordered some additional units.
6. Announcements and Introductions:
• President Sterner introduced Julie Richards from the City Manager’s Office who will be attending the general meetings.
• Chaz Adams from the Public Information Office was in attendance and President Sterner thanked him for his presentation at the last meeting.
• Hal Barnes of Neighborhood Services stated that they were working on the review of the NCIP applications.
7. Tim Smith, former chair of Visioning Committee gave some background and introduced the current chair Randall Vitale. Mr. Vitale stated that the Committee had requested the Consultant to make sure that the whole city was considered in Phase 1 as the projects moved to Phase 2. He stated that the Committee was working hard and will hold open houses throughout the City to give information and receive input. The Consultant will review the input and post information on the Committee’s website: fortlauderdalevision.org. He stated that the Committee hoped to solicit as much input as possible through various means. Individual and neighborhood comments were welcomed and could be submitted online.
8. Ad Hoc Code Reform Committee, represented ar rhe meeting by Charles Jordan, President Sterner and others, gave a history of the evolution of this most recent attempt at code reform instigated by CFLCA. Prior to 2007, in response to the real estate boom, citizens came to the CFLCA to express concerns about the trends in residential development. Richard Mancuso chaired a committee of diverse professionals that prepared a report that was presented to the City Commission. The City Commission voted to take on the issue of residential code reform in 2007. A consultant, Winter and Co., was hired. City staff presented the Winter & Co. Phase 1 report at the CFLCA September General Meeting. Since that time, the Council’s Ad Hoc Code Reform Committee met and Gus Carbonnell compiled comments in a document distributed at the meeting. It was decided that the Committee would continue to meet and bring a recommended response to the membership at the November General Meeting.
9. Committee Reports:
• District Representatives reported that Target has adopted a school in Lauderdale Manors and is redoing the school library. This is a school that the EAB has also been working with; the plans for the Swimming Hall of Fame renovations are on line; Juanita Gray from Rock Island stated that SMART was very successful in her neighborhood.
• Centennial: Ms. Mergenhagen reviewed the highlights of the Centennial celebrations through the end of the year and encouraged members to check the calendar on the City’s website.
10. Tom Andrews of Riverside Park Residents’ Association made a presentation about a product that they developed called “PooPylon” designed to act as a cost effective pet waste bag supply station. The City’s Engineering Department is prepared to recommend the product to the Commission for no-fee engineering permits provided it is approved by the CFLCA. After the presentation and discussion, the CFLCA voted unanimously as follows: The Council applauds the efforts of the Riverside Park Residents’ Association to come up with a solution to an on-going problem. The Council endorses PooPylon as an option for neighborhoods that choose to use it subject to City staff’s approval and conditions.
11. The Council thanked Harbordale for providing refreshments.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Rochelle Golub
Recording Secretary