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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-02-2020 VAB MinutesVETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2020, 3:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN ST., SEBASTIAN FL 1. Acting Chairman John Kinlen called the Veterans Advisory Committee meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. 3. Present David Spooner, President of the VFW Auxiliary, Post 10210 John Kinlen, Member of the American Legion, Post 189 Neil Baumgartner, Member of the VFW Kim Paskiewicz, VFW Auxiliary Member Randy Moyer, American Legion Member Barney Giordan, Member of the American Legion Not Present John Haskins, Past Commander of the VFW, Post 10210 - Absent Also Present Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Janet Graham, Technical Writer 4. MEETING CHAIR MAKES ANNOUNCEMENTS — Acting Chairman Kinlen announced that John Haskins is absent.. 5. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS — None 6.. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — December 2, 2019 Minutes Acting Chairman Kinlen asked if there were any corrections or changes to the Minutes of the December 2, 2019 meeting as presented. Hearing none, he called for a motion. Motion to accept the Minutes of the December 2, 2019 meeting as presented was made by Mr. Moyer, seconded by Mr. Baumgartner, and passed unanimously via voice vote. 7. Unfinished Business VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING OF MARCH 2, 2020 A. Pead Harbor Day Event Review PAGE Mr. Benton asked if any of the committee members had any feedback from the Pearl Harbor Day event. He reviewed that a new sound system has been purchased for park events. B. Four Chaplains Event Review Mr. Benton stated there was a minor issue with the sound system at this event. When the wind is blowing from the north, it still provides a little bit of feedback. In past events, even with the new sound system, there would be some feedback if you were touching the podium or somebody was tapping it. The City did purchase a device that separated the microphone from the podium, so this should solve that problem. 8. Public Input Steve Betancourt stated regarding the microphone issue, there was an issue when the past Veterans Day event was held. Mr. Benton stated there have been a couple of events since Veterans Day. A new sound system has been purchased since that event, so that should not be a problem anymore. 9. New Business A. Memorial Day Event Plan Mr. Kinlen announced that he has a retired colonel from the US Army who will be the keynote speaker. Her name is Patty Ryan. He will have everything else in place by the next committee meeting. He related that the cameraman had recorded the Veterans Day event, and he said for Memorial Day he may be able to record the event live. Mr. Benton stated he will get with that department to see if they will be ready to go by the Memorial Day event. The plan for the recordings is to eventually get to where the City can run those events similar to how the City Council meetings are run on Channel 25. VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MEETING OF MARCH 2, 2020 Mr. Kinlen stated on Memorial Day both the American Legion Post and the VFW will be doing open houses, which were also done for Veterans Day. The service for Memorial Day will start at 11:00 a.m. with open houses to follow. Mr. Moyer stated his group will be donating towards the cost of the food. Mr. Kinlen brought up the subject of the grave markers at the Sebastian Cemetery. He was notified by someone from the cemetery stating that there were problems with leaving the markers up, and Mr. Kinlen is asking for information on whom he should contact regarding this. Mr. Benton stated he will follow up on that. Mr. Giordan announced that Indian River County has just finished a Teacher of the Year program here in the County, and the VFW and some of the people who were in that program have gone forward to the national program. That program included not only a Teacher of the Year throughout the County, but also a Patriots program. Particularly in Sebastian Middle School there was a great response to that. There were three winners from Sebastian Middle School in that particular program. A program for Police Officer of the Year has also been completed. There are awards to go to Sebastian, to the Sheriffs Office, and to the City of Vero Beach. He will have more information on that in the future. Mr. Giordan also stated the Veterans Council is being approached to contribute 50 percent to the money that is given to veterans here in Sebastian. The Veterans Council is looking into this possibility. 10. Staff Matters Mr. Benton gave an update on the CDBG process, that was mentioned back in October. A portion of that money is dedicated to veterans and seniors for housing rehabilitation. Presently they are not ready to accept applications. They have a consultant who is going through the process. Since it is a federally funded program, there are certain requirements that must be met. When those requirements are completed, applications will begin to be accepted for this program. Mr. Kinlen asked for clarification on possible reimbursement for a new door at the Post, VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING OF MARCH 2, 2020 PAGE since it is an organization that serves veterans. Mr. Benton stated it is his understanding that the answer is no; it has to be for an individual's housing rehabilitation. 11. Board or Committee Member Matters Mr. Kinlen announced that by the next meeting he will have the handouts prepared that will be handed out on Memorial Day. That day is also the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Drive weekend, and auxiliary members will be handing out poppies. 12. Items for the Next Aoenda and Date: May 4, 2020 @ 3:00 p.m. 13. Adjourn There being no further business, Acting Chairman Kinlen called for a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Moyer, seconded by Mr. Baumgartner, and passed unanimously via voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 3:17 p.m. Bv: t�1 ( �� Date: / 0 — s — a-0 )—q jg