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1999 04 12 CSC Minutes . . COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION MINUTES April 12, 1999 CALL TO ORDER \ regular meeting of the Community Services Commission was called to order at 7:02 p.m. in the .a Quinta Civic Center Study Session Room. Chairperson St. Johns presided over the meeting. :ommissioner Lopez led the Pledge of Allegiance. MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioner Olga Betancourt Commissioner Mike Davis (Arrived at 7: 12 PM) Commissioner Gilbert Lopez Commissioner Kathryn Pedersen-Nadler (Vice Chairperson) Commissioner Joan Rebich Commissioner Victoria St. Johns (Chairperson) Commissioner Kay Wolff STAFF PRESENT: Dodie Horvitz, Community Services Director Marni Kunsman, Recreation Supervisor I. PUBLIC COMMENT Enrique Alvarado, Crystal Gonzalez and Peter Biehl spoke on "Save the World Club" at Coachella Valley High School. Peter and Linda Biehl were invited to speak to the Commission regarding their humanitarian work in South Africa. Mr. Biehl said in South Africa they are trying to migrate their community ideals to ours. Capetown, South Africa has been dealing with issues such as recreation, child care, and crime prevention. The life expectancy is 62.5 and in 20 years it is expected to decrease to 40 years because AIDS, diseases, alcohol, drugs, and violence are taking their toll. The Biehl's also spoke about their daughter, Amy, who was killed in South Africa. The Biehls started doing research. They had been invited to South Africa to help. Linda Biehl says "Why South Africa"? They used skills to become "activists with a little bit of money". They get many financial requests. They work with a budget of $500,000 from the Amy Biehl Foundation, and wanted to use it wisely, and no one was working with troubled youth. They did programs to reach the community and requested representatives for each area like after school programs. They goal was to create functional, young people who come from dysfunctional families. The Biehls distributed a narrative report entitled "Weaving a Barrier Against Violence" to the Commission. A copy is on file. G:IMyData\CRlST AL\CSCIMIN4-12.wpd ] . . I. CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA It was moved by Commissioners Rebich/Pedersen-Nadler to change the agenda if needed. Unanimous. >/. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes for March 8, 1 999 It was moved by Commissioners Wolff/St. Johns to approve the Minutes as submitted. Unanimous. B. Monthly Department Report for March 1999 It was moved by Commissioners Rebich/Pedersen-Nadler to approve the Monthly Department Report as submitted. Unanimous. ,. PUBLIC HEARING ,I. BUSINESS ITEMS A. Susan Shepardson, Childcare Coordinator, Riverside County Ms. Shepardson is Childcare Coordinator for the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services. Ms. Shepardson covers child care in Riverside County and works with others doing recruitment and retention for care givers. There are not enough child care providers in the areas of care, and they need help to keep the existing licensed child care providers. B. Community Picnic Marni Kunsman, Recreation Supervisor, gave an overview of the picnic which included donations received and entertainment that has been confirmed. Ms. Kunsman then divided up the phone list for Commissioner to make calls. Once the businesses have confirmed their attendance, Marni will contact them with additional information. The Commissioners were asked to complete their calls by April 26. Commissioner Pedersen-Nadler will donate funds to have 2 x 6 foot banners made for the Community Picnic. It was moved by Commissioners Rebich/Lopez to support the ongoing progress of the Community Picnic. Unanimous. C. Youth Workshop Ms. Horvitz asked direction from the Commission for room setup for the Youth Workshop which will be held April 21, 1999 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the La Ouinta Senior Center. Staff will be prepared with name badges, easel and paper, pens and pencils, sign in sheet, and refreshments. An agenda will be prepared and distributed for the special meeting. The Commission discussed the confirmation list. Chairperson St. Johns said that Council Member Henderson requested that the date be prepared as far in advance as possible. G:\MyData\CRlSTAL\CSC\MlN4-12.wpd 2 . . It was moved by Commissioners Rebich/Davis to move forward with the plans for the Youth Workshop. Unanimous. D. Skateboard Park Commissioner Wolff gave an overview of the Joint Study Session meeting with City Council regarding the issue of a skateboard park in La Ouinta. Commissioner Wolff stated that funds are an issue, and that Community donations are part of the considerations. The Youth Workshop will be a part of a needs assessment, and participants will be surveyed at the Community Picnic. Commissioner Wolff will prepare the survey for the picnic. Commissioner Pedersen-Nadler will find out the ages of the kids interested in skate parks. Commissioner St. Johns will explore ideas of the Building Industry Association for support and credit for students to learn a trade. It was moved by Commissioners Wolff/Davis to pursue a skate board park needs assessment. Unanimous. '". CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MATERIALS A. Letter to Mr. & Mrs. Peter Biehl B. Year 2000 Project Status Report The above items were received and filed. '11I. COMMISSIONER ITEMS - None 1(. ADJOURNMENT : was moved by Commissioners Rebich/Lopez to adjourn the meeting. Unanimous. Meeting djourned at 9:45 p.m.. IEXT MEETING DATE, TIME AND TOPIC ~ay 10,1999 7:00 PM .a Ouinta Civic Center Study Session Room ,ubmitted by: ~ristal Spidell, Commission Secretary G:IMyData\CRlST AL\CSCIMIN4-12.wpd 3