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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem #06 Quarterly Community Grant Program - July 2008 Cycle AGENDA ITEM COVER SHEET Meeting Date: August 5, 2008 Item # (p Reviewed By: po ~~ Contact Name: Joy P. Wright, Community Department Director: ~v ~T Relations Manager ~ Contact Number: 407-905-3100 ext. 1530 City Manager: Robert D. F~ Subject: Quarterly Community Grant Program - July 2008 Cycle --- - I Background Summary: The Community Grant Review Board met on July 23, 2008 to discuss the 20 applications received during the third cycle of the Quarterly Community Grant Program (formerly the Community Merit Awards Program). The Quarterly Community Grant Program provides financial grants of up to $500 made to acoee non-profit organizations and civic groups outside City limits which benefit residents of acoee. The grants are awarded to acknowledge excellence and further the contributions these local organizations bring to the acoee community. The Community Grant Review Board voted to award grants to 16 organizations. The Grant Review Board voted to deny awarding grants to the following four organizations: acoee Elementary School Media Center; acoee Little League; acoee Police Dept. DARE Program and Spring Lake Elementary Library Program. (See attached minutes.) There is $7,500 allotted for this quarter of the Community Grant Program There is an additional $2,250 available that rolled over from the previous grant cycle held in April 2008. The total amount requested from the 20 organizations this grant cycle is $10,000. The Community Grant Review Board voted to fund 16 organizations in the amount of $6,500 to stay within the allotted funding for the current grant cycle. Attached is the minutes from the Community Grant Review Board's meeting held on July 23, 2008. The deadline for community groups to submit applications for the 4th quarter of the grant program is August 18th. Issue: Should the Mayor and Commissioners approve the funding recommendations made by the Community Grant Review Board? Recommendations: Staff respectfully requests that the Mayor and City Commission approve the Community Grant Review Board's recommendation. The following organizations are recommended to t receIve gran s: Organization Requested Recommended American Legion Post 109 $ 500 $ 250 Boy Scout Troop 198 $ 500 $ 250 Bread of Life Fellowship, Inc. $ 500 $ 500 Christian Service Center $ 500 $ 500 Citrus Elementary PT A $ 500 $ 250 Cub Scout Pack 217 $ 500 $ 250 Gift of Swimming, Inc. $ 500 $ 500 Ocoee Historical Commission $ 500 $ 500 Ocoee Middle School School Nurse Pro gram $ 500 $ 500 Ocoee Middle School FFA $ 500 $ 500 Ocoee Youth Soccer League $ 500 $ 500 Saving Young Hearts, Inc. $ 500 $ 500 Spring Lake Elementary- Electronic Projection System $ 500 $ 250 ST ARS Backpack Program $ 500 $ 500 West Orange High PTSA $ 500 $ 500 Winter Garden Heritage Foundation $ 500 $ 250 Total $ 8,000 $ 6,500 Type of Item: (please mark with an "x') Public Hearin Ordinance First Readin Ordinance Second Readin Resolution X Commission A roval Discussion & Direction inal Document/Contract Attached for Execution b Cit Clerk inal Document/Contract Held b De artment for Execution I I Reviewed b Reviewed b Reviewed b N/A N/A N/A 2 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OCOEE COMMUNITY GRANT REVIEW BOARD MEETING HELD JULY 23, 2008 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Sills called the regular meeting of the Community Grant Review Board to order at 7:03 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall. Chairman Sills led the pledge of allegiance. The roll was called and a quorum declared present. PRESENT: Chairman Sills, Members Bauske, Nickels and Wilsen. Also present were Community Relations Manager Wright and Records Coordinator Moseley. ABSENT: None. Chairman Sills welcomed the newest member, Rosemary Wilsen, to the board. He also announced the recent resignation of member John Grogan, who busy schedule was preventing him from giving the board 100%. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Regular Meeti d Workshop June 23, 2008 Member Wilsen seconded b Grant Review Board Meetin carried unanimously. Application No.1 - American Legion Post 109 Lester Dabbs was present to represent American Legion Post 109. Member Wilsen inquired about their annual budget reported as $1253 on the application; however, the City ofOcoee has granted them $1,000 in 2008. She said she knew they did great things, but was concerned that most of their budget comes from the City of Ocoee. Mr. Dabbs said he personally sponsored one of two candidates for Boys State and their cost was over $700. He was unsure of the exact numbers and will have to check with Commander Ed Bowers to be more precise. He asked what additional information was necessary and he would bring that back to the next meeting. Member Bauske said the Boys State program sounds marvelous, but wondered if there was an equivalent program for girls. Lester Dabbs said there was a Girls State program as well, and they would support that; however, they have had no female applicants yet. Member Nickels moved to award $500 to American LeJ!ion Post 109. Motion failed for lack of a second. Member Bauske. seconded bv Member Wilsen. moved to recommend to the City Commission avvroval of$250 to American Legion Post 109. Motion carried unanimously. Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 Lester Dabbs thanked the board and would bring more accurate information to the next meeting, after he speaks with the Commander. Application No.2 - Bread of Life Fellowship, Inc. Mark Anthony was present to represent the organization. Member Nickels. seconded bv Member Bauske. moved to recommend to the City Commission approval 0($500 to the Bread o(Li(e Fellowship. Inc. Motion carried 3-0. with Member Wilsen abstaining. Application No.3 - Citrus Elementary PT A Pam Ryan was present to represent the organiza . Member Bauske inquired i fu 0 he MVP grants because it qualifies as a beautification of a buildin n t said it could go before the other grant, but the amount is more appropri re this board. Member Niekels asked about the cost estimates of the banners and cases requested. Pam Ryan said she did not have an amount in mind yet, but did give the sizes desired. She said the banners would be displayed to welcome the students to the school and make it more inviting. She said the showcase would be for gift items in the store that are available for purchase. Member Wilsen was concerned that they had no budget for this of their own yet. Pam Ryan said they have recently added a line item for school improvement and safety for $2,000. Member Bauske said they have not priced the showcase or banners yet, so they do not know if $500 will cover the project. She inquired as to what they would do with the money if it were not enough to fund their requested purchase. Pam Ryan said they had painting projects inside the school to complete that also went in line with the inviting entryway. Member Wilsen said they had to be accountable for spending the City's money and prices would be beneficial in their decision. She asked that she come back to the board during the next grant cycle with specific cost estimates. Member Nickels. seconded bv Member Bauske. moved to recommend to City Commission denial the want to Citrus Elementary PT A at this time *. Motion carried unanimouslv. * This motion was rescinded below, after the Boy Scout Troop 198 application, and a new motion was made to grant $250 to Citrus Elementary, after the application for Cub Scouts Troop 217. Mayor Vandergrift thanked the board for their time. He commented that City Staff could be checking the applications and calling the applicants if further budgetary information was necessary before coming to the meeting, rather than denying the application. Chairman Sills informed the Mayor that the board had recommended some amendments to their bylaws that would soon come before City Commission for approval. He said one of those changes was to require an itemized list of expenditures from the applicants. Mayor Vandergrift was not sure why their bylaw amendments would need to have City Commission approval, since the board 2 Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 should have that authorization on their own. Chairman Sills said the board can only make recommendations and the City Commission has the authorization to approve. Application No.4 - Ocoee Youth Soccer League Jonathon Fry was present to represent the organization. Member Nickels inquired about the fees that players contribute to the league. Jonathon Fry said the fees for ages 4-8 is $70, and older is $80. Those fees cover the cost of uniforms, trophies, and field maintenance. Member Bauske asked what a practice shirt was. Jonathon Fry said their teams have scrimmage matches and each teams wears matching shirts so they know who is on which team during practice. Member Bauske. seconded by Member Wilsen. moved to recommend to the City Commission approval of$500 to the Ocoee Youth Soccer Leawe. Motion carried unanimously. ;""' Ann Walding announced that the C are already over 21,000 this year. Sh fuel and supplies, and they can only served 39,000 people last year, and ortunate that their expenses are rising, such as by the help they get. Application No.5 - Christian Service Center Ann Walding was present to represent th Member Bauske. seconded by Member Nickels. moved to recommend to the City Commission approval of$500 to the Christian Service Center. Motion carried 3-0. with Member Wilsen abstaininJ!. Application No.6 - Ocoee Elementary School- Media Center Nobody was present to represent the organization. Member Wilsen inquired if the media center had received $500 from the last grant cycle for a project. Member Nickels said they received funds for educational CDs last time. Member Wilsen said she would like for someone to be present to answer her questions. Member Wi/sen. seconded by Chairman Sills. moved to recommend to the City Commission denial offunds to Ocoee Elementarv School Media Center. Motion carried 3-1. with Member Bauske opposed. Application No.7 - Winter Garden Music Fest 2008 Julie Butler was present to represent the organization. Member Wi/sen. seconded by Member Bauske. moved to recommend to the City Commission award $250 to Winter Garden Music Fest. Motion carried unanimously. 3 Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 I Application No.8 - S.T.A.R.S. of West Orange Chesta Hembrooke was present to represent the organization. Chairman Sills, seconded bv Member Nickels, moved to recommend to the City Commission approval of$500 to the S.TA.R.S. of West Orange. Motion carried 2-1. with Member Bauske opposed. and Member Wilsen abstaining. Joe Hembrooke asked Member Bauske why she was opposed. Member Bauske said she was concerned that the City ofOcoee funds too much of the S.T.A.R.S. budget and the organization has received more money from the board than any other grant applicant. I Application No.9 - Gift of Swimming, Inc. Kathy Baldwin was present to represent the organization. Member Wilsen, seconded bv Member Bauske, moved to recommend to the City Commission approval of$500 to the Gift of Swimming, Inc. Motion carried unanimously. Application No. 10 - Boy Scout Troop 198 Nancy Cox was present to represe 0 Member Wilsen asked what wi e last $500 grant the organization received. Nancy Cox explained the mo e 0 purchase color guard uniforms for ceremonies performed by the Boy Scout T and the uniforms would remain with the troop. She said they are currently requesting funds to replenish their camping supplies, such as tents, mess kits, coolers, firewood, etc. that parents do not supply. She said they have 37 members and camp once per month and they also need to update many items due to wear and tear. Member Wilsen asked for the approximate costs for such supplies. Nancy Cox said she was not aware that they needed that specific information, but will be sure to have it included for future requests. Member Wilsen was concerned that they denied Citrus Elementary for lack of the same information, and thought it was only fair to do the same for this applicant; she would like to see accountability for the money disbursed. Member Nickels said the organization was wonderful, but agrees with Member Wilsen in thinking it would irresponsible of the board to give away money without justifying how it is to be spent. Member Wilsen asked the Boy Scout Troop 198 to return for the next cycle with estimated costs so they could approve the application. Member Nickels. seconded bv Member Wilsen, rewetfullv moved to recommend to the City Commission denial of funds to the Bov Scout Troop 198 due to no prices being listed on the application. Motion tied 2-2, with Chairman Sills and Member Bauske opposed. 4 Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 Member Bauske did not feel it was fair to deny the application due to their failure to list the costs because the rules do not require that information. She announced that they proposed to make that a requirement for the next grant cycle and asked applicants to pay attention to that in the future. She said the scouts are a great addition to the City and she knew they would use the money responsibly, adding that the cost of tents and mess kits would surely cost at least $250. Member Nickels stated they should then grant the money to Citrus Elementary School PT A, if they are to award the money to the Boy Scout Troop 198. Member Wilsen said the Boy Scouts have received $2,000 from the City since 2005, but Citrus Elementary has not received anything yet. She said she would stand in front of City Commission to justify her opinion and fight to keep things fair. Member Nickels. seconded bv Chairman Sills, moved to rescind the previous motions made regarding Citrus Elementary PT A and Bov Scout Troop 198. Member Wilsen stated that she is not against any organiz important contribution to society, but would like to see t organizations as they can who serve Ocoee. elieves that they are an read around to as many Commission I Application No. 11 - Cub Scout Pack 217 Nancy Cox was present to represent the organization. Nancy Cox said there was no back-up included on the application for pricing, but she did know the cost of storage runs $700-800 per year for all of their supplies. Member Nickels, seconded bv Member Bauske. moved to recommend to the City Commission approval 0($250 to Cub Scout Pack 217. Motion carried unanimously. New Motion made for Citrus Elementary PTA: Member Nickels. seconded bv Member Wi/sen, moved to recommend to the City Commission approval 0($250 to Citrus Elementary PTA. Motion carried unanimously. Board members reminded applicants to be sure to add cost amounts to future applications and said it would be nice if they included pictures of what they spent past grants on. I Application No. 12 - WOHS PTSA - Challenge Day Michelle Ramsey was present to represent the organization. Member Wilsen asked how many students from Ocoee attend WOHS. Michelle Ramsey said about 20% of student population is from Ocoee. Member Bauske asked how many students 5 Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 attend the challenge day. Michelle Ramsey said they did it the first time last year for one day and had about 125-130 students, and it was such a success they have extended it to 3 days this year. She said they also have about 75 adult volunteers for the event each day and asked board members if they were interested in participating. She reported that about 90% of last years adult member participants have donated money again this year. The original challenge day was on Oprah and they have to commit a year ahead to do the event in order to book the facilitators to run the program. Their budget includes facilitators' pay of$10,000 and misc. expenses while they are here. They also supply t-shirts for all kids who are part of the program to give them an opportunity to advertise the event. Member Wi/sen. seconded bv Chairman Sills. moved to recommend to the City Commission avvroval of$500 to the WOHS Challemle Dav Events. Motion carried unanimouslv. Application No. 13 - Ocoee Police Dept. D.A.R.E. Program Nobody was present to represent the organization. Member Wilsen stated there 0 valuable programs and she just feels that a representative should be prese answer her questions in order to assist in their decision making process. She did encourage any applicants to reapply. I Application No. 14 - Spring Lake Elementary School Nobody was present to represent the organization regarding technology: electronic projection system. Members Nickels said that Spring Lake Elementary School had submitted two applications, one for technology and one for library books, and thought they had already received $500 for each of these at the last grant cycle. She wished to vote on them simultaneously. Member Nickels moved to recommend to the City Commission avvroval of$250 to each Svring Lake Elementary School avplication. for a total of$500. Motion died for lack of a second. Member Wilsen said the past request from Spring Lake Elementary for books was denied by the Community Grant Review Board; however, the City Commission approved them to receive $500 at their meeting. Member Wi/sen moved to recommend to the City Commission denial offunds to each Svrinz Lake Elementary School application because nobody is vresent to answer her questions and one application is a duolicate request for books. Motion died for lack of a second. 6 Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 Member Bauske. seconded bv Member Nickels. moved to recommend to the City Commission approval of$250 to Spring Lake Elementary School for the electronic proiection system for classroom use. Motion carried 3-1. with Member Wilsen ovvosed I Application No. 15 - Spring Lake Elementary School Nobody was present to represent the organization regarding library books. Member Bauske. seconded bv Member Wilsen. moved to recommend to the City Commission denial of funds to Svring Lake Elementary School for library books. Motion avvroved unanimously. I Application No. 16 - Ocoee Middle School FFA Amy Anderson and two students were present to represent the organization. Amy Anderson said they have property on Hackney-Prairie Road that houses the animals for FF A to raise for the Central Florida Fair. Their property needs new fencing for the safety of the animals and she has provided cost estimates, totaling aPPJqx' tely $5,000. Member Bauske inquired if the new fence would be more weather resis ., ,$" Y Anderson explained the quality would ensure that. Member Wilsen aske 'f eir first application for a grant from the City ofOcoee. Amy AI;lderfjon p 'for a grant back in 2003 to help fund an officer attending t ' ., ,.,. . . 1 . nning team. Member Wilsen seconde';;~ auske moved to recommend to the Ci Commission apvroval of$500 to the 0 ~.. lddle School FFA. Motion carried unanimously. I Application No. 17- Ocoee Little League Nobody was present to represent the organization. Member Nickels. seconded bv Member Wilsen. moved to recommend to the City Commission denial offunds to the Ocoee Little League. Motion carried 3-1 with Member Bauske opvosed Member Bauske said that City Commission will vote against their recommendation and grant the money anyway, and Member Wilsen disagreed. I Application No. 18- Saving Young Hearts, Inc. Martha Lopez-Anderson was present to represent the organization. Member Nickels asked why people had to pay by credit card for heart screening. Martha Lopez-Anderson explained because they had to pre-register due to the family history information needed in advance, and it keeps the line moving smoothly during the process. 7 Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 Member Bauske. seconded bv Chairman Sills, moved to recommend to City Commission approval of$500 to Savin!! Youn!! Hearts. Motion carried 3-0 with Member Wilsen abstaining. I Application No. 19- Ocoee Middle School Nurse Program Nobody was present to represent the organization. Member Wilsen moved to recommend to City Commission denial of funds for the Ocoee Middle School Nurse Program due to nobody being vresent to answer questions. Motion died for lack of a second. Chairman Sills, seconded bv Member Nickels. moved to recommend to City Commission a rovalo $500 to Ocoee Middle School Nurse Pro am. oIion carried 3-1 with Member Wilsen ovposed. Application No. 20 - Oco Nancy Maguire was pres Chairman Sills asked if s , "ght this book would benefit the citizens of Ocoee. Nancy Maguire said absolutely and she thought it would be about 150 pages and it is already past 200 and still going. Chairman Sills asked any citizens with information on the City's history to get in touch with Nancy Maguire. Nancy Maguire explained the first half of the book is on the history of the town and the second half is about the families who have been there for so long. She said the book would need to be photo ready by a professional publisher and edited, and those things cost money. Member Wilsen. seconded bv Chairman Sills. moved to recommend to City Commission avvroval of $500 to Ocoee Historical Commission. Motion carried unanimously. ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRPERSON Chairman Sills announced that they had not yet filled the vacant seat of Vice-Chairperson. Member Bauske. seconded bv Member Wilsen. moved to nominate Laurie Nickels for Vice- Chairperson. Motion carried unanimously. COMMENTS: Chairman Sills announced the grant applications will change for the next cycle, so the applications will open August 4, 2008, and will close on August 18, 2008, in order to meet and process payment before the end of the fiscal year. He announced the next meeting will be August 27th. Staff Liaison Wright said the new applications will be ready at that time, whereas they are required to include all costs. 8 Community Grant Review Board July 23, 2008 I Member Bauske notified the applicants to be sure to use the new applications for future grant cycles. Member Nickels added that the new applications will require a list of costs to assist them in their decision-making process, and also that representatives need be present at the meetings. Member Wilsen stated that the board's recommendations go before City Commission for final approval. Member Bauske asked Staff Liaison Wright to notify the members when these approvals and the amended bylaws go before Commission so they could be present. Staff Liaison Wright said she would do so and also will notify the applicants. ADJOURNMENT at 8:27 p.m. Holly Moseley, Records Coordina Attest: 9