Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting

Minutes Town of Lake Park, Florida Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting Tuesday, August 2, 2022 6:30 PM Town Hall Commission Chamber, 535 Park Avenue, Lake Park, Florida 33403 The Centennial Celebration Committee met for the purpose of a regular meeting on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. Present were Chair/Commissioners John Linden, Mayor Michael O’Rourke, Commissioner Roger Michaud, Commissioner Mary Beth Taylor, Special Events Director Riunite Franks, Committee Members Vice-Chair Evelyn Harris-Clark, Patricia Leduc, Felicia Ann Brabham and Beth Motschenbacher. Town Manager John D’Agostino was absent. ROLL CALL & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Linden performed the roll call and Vice-Chair Harris-Clark led the pledge of allegiance. SPECIAL PRESENTATION/REPORT: 1. Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics Code of Ethics Training. The facilitator from the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics was unavailable to attend the meeting. They deferred training to the next meeting. Motion: Commissioner Michaud moved to have the presentation conducted during the next meeting for an in-person presentation; Commissioner Taylor seconded the motion. Vote on Motion: Committee Member Aye Nay Other Mayor O’Rourke X Chair/Commissioner Linden X Commissioner Michaud X Commissioner Taylor X Committee Member Brabham X Vice-Chair Harris-Clark X Committee Member Leduc X Committee Member Motschenbacher X Motion passed 8-0. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. July 5, 2022 Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting Minutes. Motion: Committee Member Motschenbacher moved to approve the Consent Agenda; Commissioner Michaud seconded the motion. Vote on Motion: Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting 1 August 2, 2022  Committee Member Aye Nay Other Mayor O’Rourke X Chair/Commissioner Linden X Commissioner Michaud X Commissioner Taylor X Committee Member Brabham X Vice-Chair Harris-Clark X Committee Member Leduc X Committee Member Motschenbacher X Motion passed 8-0. New Business: 2. History of the Town and Historical Tour Discussion. Dianne Sophinos, member of the Historical Society discussed the five Historical Home Tours conduct over the years. She circulated newspaper articles, booklet, flyers, and other materials to the members to review. She read from some of the article to provide the Committee with historical information about the Town. She discussed, in detail, what was involved with each Historical Home Tour. Commissioner Michaud asked if the Historical Society Members went door to door to distribute the flyers. Ms. Sophinos explained that each member was assigned one or more duties. She explained that one group worked on marketing, which included reaching out to area newspapers, news stations, and attended other events in the area and distributed the flyers to get the word out about the event. Ms. Sophinos shared historical facts about the Town and the Historical Society. The Committee discussed cost of printing materials, fees the Historical Society charged during the Tours, and the history of the homes in Town. Mayor O’Rourke asked Ms. Sophinos to assist the Committee with the Historical Home Tour. She agreed to help as best as possible. She strongly suggested notifying the Kelsey family members soon of next year’s events. Chair/Commissioner Linden suggested hosting the Historical Home Tour for either February or March 2023. Vice-Chair Harris Clark asked what the Historical Society could do differently to make the Tour stand out. Ms. Sophinos made suggestions for what might make this Tour different. She suggested music from students of the Arts; flowers in each of the home and an end of Tour party celebration. Committee Member Motschenbacher suggested including the downtown businesses on the day of the events and suggested that business owners offer specials. Vice-Chair Harris Clark asked when would the Town need to secure trolleys for the Tour. Special Events Director Franks stated that reservations are necessary and needed to be done quickly, especially if the Tour was done during the holidays. The month of March was suggested to collaborate with Florida Bicycle Month. Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting 2 August 2, 2022 The Committee discussed when the Tour would work best. Ms. Sophinos explained how the trolley route was scheduled and how it ran during each tour. The Historical Society members were charged with different tasks to make the event successful. Unfortunately, the Historical Society only has a handful of members. Ms. Sophinos explained the membership fee on the Historical Society to be $150.00 for a lifetime membership; $5.00 for an individual, $25.00 for a family, and $25.00 if someone wanted to be a sponsor. Vice-Chair Harris Clark asked if the Committee wanted two (2) tours. Would the homeowners be willing to allow people through their homes twice a year? The Committee discussed the specifics of hosting two tours, which type of tour, etc. Ms. Sophinos explained that insurance was necessary, deposit paid for the trolley and things to consider. Special Events Director Franks stated that they would ask the trolley company to add the Town as an additional insurer and have everyone boarding the trolley sign a waiver. Ms. Sophinos gave some key points to consider, such as having a sponsor for the event would cuts down on Town expense. She suggested charging for advertisement on the booklets. She stated that the Historical Society planned for six-month and as the event date got closer, the Historical Society met once a week. Special Events Director Franks explained the solicitation process and thresholds. Vice- Chair Harris Clark asked if the Town could request the trolleys before another municipality got them. Special Events Director Franks explained that a deposit was necessary. She suggested that the holiday tour wait until 2023. She felt that December 2022 would not work because there were too many undecided factors. She reminded the Committee that the list of proposed events was long. She stated that during the next meeting they would finalize the logo and sponsorship packet. She reminded the Committee that the Town budget had not been finalized for these events. Chair/Commissioner Linden was not in favor of waiting until December 2023 to conduct the Holiday Home Tour. Commissioner Michaud suggested decorating bicycles and not using a trolley for the Tour. Mayor O’Rourke suggested hosting the Holiday Home Tour the day after the Tree Lighting Ceremony, which was December 3rd. He suggested combining the event with the holiday decorating contest. Ms. Sophinos explained that with the state the world was in, homeowners might not want people inside of their homes. Therefore, she suggested that they have garden tours of the historical properties. Motion: Mayor O’Rourke moved to include two (2) Holiday Home Tours, one in December 2022, which would be a scaled down version of the event with a second event later, which would be a true centennial event; Vice-Chair Harris Clark seconded the motion. Commissioner Michaud asked if the second tour would take place in March 2023. Mayor O’Rourke stated that his motion was intended to include March 2023 as the second event. Vice-Chair Harris Clark suggested having the second event around Easter. Committee Member Motschenbacher asked if the December tour would have any centennial significance to it. Committee Member Leduc stated that her understanding was Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting 3 August 2, 2022 that the Committee was working on a logo to brand the events related to the centennial. She suggested waiting until they got feedback on the interest of hosting the event. She had many questions relating to the event and details that the Committee were still determining. Ms. Sophinos suggested mailing letters to the historical property owners or renters asking if they wanted to participate in the tour. Chair/Commissioner Linden asked if the Historical Society organized the December tour, then the Committee could piggyback off the event in February or March and know how much interest there was from property owners. He asked how many historic homes were in Town. Ms. Sophinos stated that there were 18 on the local register. Chair/Commissioner Linden suggested if a sponsor would pick up the charge for the mailing through the Historical Society, the event would not be as costly. That would give an opportunity to the Committee to know what did and did not work to prepare for the next event. Ms. Sophinos stated that the Historical Society only has a few members. She suggested that she and the Mayor would speak to homeowners and renters and get feedback about an event. Chair/Commissioner Linden suggested the letter be mailed first before the Mayor goes out with her to speak to property owners and renters. Mayor O’Rourke asked how the sponsorship portion would work. Special Events Director Franks stated that her understanding was that the Committee would use the Sponsorship Packet. The Committee members would present the packet to the business owner and the business would choose which level and event they wanted to sponsor. Commissioner Taylor suggested hosting a spring event and then hosting the tour later next year. She said it was too much for the Historical Society to accomplish. Ms. Sophinos stated that letters need to go out next week and she would have a response by the next meeting. Mayor O’Rourke suggested that the second event be held in March instead of February. Ms. Sophinos stated that Harry Kelsey’s birthday was March 26, so the event could take place on that date. She suggested that the event take place from 1- 3:00 p.m. and end at the Evergreen House. The Committee discussed the event, cost, sponsorship, concerns with which organization would spearhead the event. Ms. Sophinos stated that she would be the only member that would be working on this event and she could not organize the event by December. The Committee members agreed to volunteer their time to the event. Ms. Sophinos explained that depending on the number of homes and the details involved, they could pull it off. She suggested that the Committee meet more often. Commissioner Michaud posed the question to the Committee on how they were going to accomplish the entire task before the end of the year. Chair/Commissioner Linden suggested that the two organizations work together for a successful event. Town Clerk Mendez explained that only one member of the Committee could meeting with Ms. Sophinos at a time, otherwise they would be violating the Sunshine Law. Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting 4 August 2, 2022 Motion amended as follows: Mayor O’Rourke moved to have the Centennial Committee be a sponsor for the December 2022 Holiday Home Tour that would be run by the Historical Society and that a second Home Tour be scheduled for late March 2023, Harry Kelsey’s Birthday on March 26, 2023, with some event that you all put together as part of the centennial; Vice-Chair Harris Clark seconded the motion. Committee Member Leduc asked if there was a budget, which would authorize the Committee to sponsor an event that was different from the Centennial event. Discussion ensued regarding budget and their participation during events. Mayor O’Rourke explained that everyone could attend events; they just could not discuss items that were on the agenda outside of a meeting. Vote on Motion: Committee Member Aye Nay Other Mayor O’Rourke X Chair/Commissioner Linden X Commissioner Michaud X Commissioner Taylor X Committee Member Brabham X Vice-Chair Harris-Clark X Committee Member Leduc X Committee Member Motschenbacher X Motion failed 3-5. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS: Committee Member Brabham had no comments. Vice-Chair Harris-Clark expressed concern with how late the Committee began. She suggested more meetings. She made suggestions for the events, such as dressing in period pieces, such as the roaring 20’s. She suggested creating a link of the Town’s website with the Centennial celebration information, which would be a hyperlink to details of the events. She suggested that the Mayor give proclamations during the event. She suggested getting children to design the Centennial logo as a way to engage the youth in the event. Committee Member Leduc had concerns with all the outstanding issues that have not been finalized so far and suggested more meetings to allow for the planning sections of the events. Committee Member Motschenbacher had no comments Town Manager D’Agostino was absent. Chair Linden announced that the Back to School Extravaganza was taking place on Saturday, August 6th. He explained that the way the Committee operates was to follow Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting 5 August 2, 2022