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1999-01-12City of Southlake, Texas MINUTES Joint Drug & Alcohol Awareness Committee Tuesday, January 12, 1999 Meeting Minutes Members Present: Debra Edmondson -Co -Chairperson, Doug Strickland -Co -Chairperson, Gary Fawks, Jacky Brooks -Lawrence, Brad Bartholomew, Margaret Melton, Roxanne Matela-Berenbeim, Bob Hamilton, Joey Milner Members Absent: Howard Addison, Bruce Colbert Staff Present: Shelli Siemer, Sean Leonard, Gary Gregg, Elizabeth Rowland Guests Present: Mary Leonard, Brian Leonard, Sean Leonard, Susan Gill Vardon, Ron Dunker Agenda Item No 1- Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Co -Chairperson Debra Edmondson at 6:05 p.m. She discussed the tragic death of a Southlake teenager this past weekend, which is thought to be related to a heroin overdose. She further explained that it is very important that the Committee needs to focus on implementing programs, activities or action plans which will have results. Since this is the first meeting of the committee, the co -chairpersons Debra Edmondson and Doug Strickland asked for each member to introduce themselves. ♦ Joey Milner is appointed to the committee as a Chamber of Commerce representative. He owns the Blockbuster store and has two children ages eight and six. ♦ Brad Bartholomew served on the committee last year and looks forward to serving on this year's committee. ♦ Jacky Brooks Lawrence also served on the committee last year and she is a parent of three children who attend Carroll Intermediate School, Carroll Junior High, and Carroll High School. ♦ Gary Fawks is a City Councilmember representative to the Committee. He has three children ages eight, nine, and twelve. Gary Fawks stated the importance of achieving results through this committee. ♦ Debra Edmondson is a City Councilmember representative to the Committee. She also served on the ad -hoc committee created the previous year. She has three children ages ten, fifteen, and seventeen. Jt. Drug & Alcohol Awareness Comm. Meeting Minutes 1112199 Page 2 ♦ Doug Strickland is a CISD School Board representative to the Committee, and served on last year's committee. He has three children ages seventeen, twenty three, and twenty six. ♦ Bob Hamilton is a Chamber of Commerce representative to the Committee. He is the publisher of the Star Telegram's community newspapers. He has two children one of which is a high school student and the other is attending the Air Force Academy. ♦ Roxane Matela-Berenbeim was a member of the committee last year. She has two children ages eight and nine. ♦ Margaret Melton was also involved in the previous committee's work. She has two children ages eleven and seventeen. Agenda Item No 2 - Public Forum, Debra Edmondson asked whether anyone in the audience wanted to address the committee. Since none of the visitors wanted to speak, Doug Strickland asked them to introduce themselves. Mary Leonard is a concerned parent, and she brought two children Brian and Sean. Sean attended the committee meetings last year. Susan GillVardon introduced herself as a reporter for the Star -Telegram. Ron Dunker introduced himself as a concerned parent. Agenda Item No 3 -Consideration: Determine Meeting Schedule, The committee discussed how often they will need to meet and considered meeting once a month for two to two and one-half hours each meeting. The committee discussed holding the meeting on the second Tuesday of every month at the City Council Chambers. Brad Bartholomew made a motion to adopt the second Tuesday of each month as the official meeting date from the Joint Drug and Alcohol Awareness Committee. Joey Milner seconded the motion. Ayes: Edmondson, Strickland, Fawks, Brooks -Lawrence, Bartholomew, Melton, Matela-Berenbeim, Hamilton, Milner Nays: None Approved: 9-0 vote Agenda Item No 4 - Consideration: Adopt By -Laws. The committee reviewed the proposed Bylaws. The Bylaws are similar to those adopted by the previous committee. The section pertaining to the quorum, which is the number of members who must be present to transact business, is defined as needing at least four voting members present. The committee discussed the quorum requirement and would like it to be defined as the majority of all members appointed to the committee, which includes at least six members out of the eleven members appointed. The sections defining the make up of the committee and sub -committees are exactly as they are defined in Resolution No. 98-68, which created the committee. The committee discussed the appointment of sub -committee members. Gary Fawks asked about using SYAC as the committee's youth representation. Debra Edmondson stated we could add wording regarding P. Drug & Alcohol Awareness Comm. Meeting Minutes 1112199 Page 3 any other youth representatives which the committee sees fit to appoint. There was further discussion about the City Council and CISD Board of Trustees being responsible for appointing the sub -committee members. Why shouldn't the committee appoint the sub- committee members? The committee will know who are the right individuals to get the job done. Doug Strickland stated that we should revise these bylaws and then bring them back for consideration at the next meeting. Brad Bartholomew moved to table adopting the bylaws to the next meeting. Jacky Brooks Lawrence seconded the motion. Ayes: Edmondson, Strickland, Fawks, Brooks -Lawrence, Bartholomew, Melton, Matela-Berenbeim, Hamilton, Milner Nays: None Approved: 9-0 vote Agenda Item No 5 - Discussion • Goals and priorities. The committee reviewed the goals and rankings established by the previous committee. Doug Strickland discussed the goal related to expanding the CISD curriculum in which the schools are reviewing the proposed course work on a new sixteen week course sponsored by a federal grant. Elizabeth Rowland explained the program as a three year grant focusing on Life Skills. The course will start with eighth grade and then will expand into the sixth and seventh grades. Brad Bartholomew stated that if the school board is behind this recommendation, then the committee should be confident that the CISD will implement the programs. Debra Edmondson stated that the committee needs to look at what goals the committee wants to get involved in and how to separate these goals into various sub -committees. The committee reviewed the GCISD packet of information entitled "Vital Signs" and discussed the Safe Homes program. Roxane Matela-Berenbeim stated that the Safe Home program list should be updated monthly to ensure new residents are included in the list. The committee also discussed the need to focus on information distribution by putting together a brochure to distribute to the community. There is a card which discusses the legal ramifications of drinking and driving. It would be helpful to sponsor a volunteer effort to place information cards under windshields in the High School parking lot. It is hard for parents to locate the support services available in the community. The County recently approved funding for a facility in this area. The leadership group from the Chamber of Commerce is trying to get Channel 8 to hold a meeting to discuss a variety of topics with the community. Agenda Item No 7• City-wide Conferences/Forums. The committee discussed the need to pursue implementation of the city-wide forums or conferences. This would require the work of a separate sub -committee to implement this program. Gary Fawks stated the committee should decide how frequently to host these Jt. Drug & Alcohol Awareness Comm. Meeting Minutes 1112199 Page 4 conferences, with a recommendation to hold them quarterly. Elizabeth Rowland stated that she is meeting with Challenge Incorporated who recently received grant money to provide community forums. Jacky Brooks Lawrence stated the need to focus on educating the community. Bob Hamilton stated that the seminars are an excellent approach to educating the public. The HEB school district is hosting seminars for parents and youth to attend with the topics ranging from drugs, alcohol, signs of abuse, self-esteem, etc. Every topic can tie back into drugs and alcohol. The seminars give parents the ability to pick and choose which topic they are interested in. He recommends involving the Chamber of Commerce in the forums. Agenda Item No. 6. Role of sub -committees. The committee discussed establishing the following sub -committees with committee members assigned to each sub -committee: 1. CISD Curriculum Sub -Committee Dr. Elizabeth Rowland, CISD 2. Parent/Networking Sub -Committee Doug Strickland, Margaret Melton, Roxane Matela-Berenbeim 3. Conference/Forum Sub -Committee Bob Hamilton, Joey Milner, Chamber of Commerce 4. Information Distribution/Speakers Bureau Sub -Committee Debra Edmondson, Gary Fawks, Brad Bartholomew 5. Youth Sub -Committee SYAC, Jacky Brooks Lawrence Bob Hamilton suggested developing a slogan or decal to post on all the businesses in the community. If the committee has a theme and vision, the Chamber of Commerce can underwrite the effort and support the committee's goals. Gary Fawks suggested that SYAC develop the slogan for the committee and design some posters. Roxane Matela-Berenbeim explained the parent networking program which should focus on notifying parents to speak out and discuss issues. Margaret Melton based on the committee meetings last year there are parents in the community who are in denial. Gary Fawks asked about a sub -committee to be responsible for keeping informed about what the other communities in the region are doing to start a network of information. Jacky Brooks Lawrence discussed the Drug Awareness Prevention Round Table meeting with Barnes & Noble in Grapevine. Roxane volunteered to attend some of their meetings. Doug Strickland informed the committee that the proposed natatorium would provide kids a place to go. Brad Bartholomew stated we need to place an item on the next agenda for the Jt. Drug & Alcohol Awareness Comm. Meeting Minutes 1112199 Page 5 Drug and Alcohol committee to show the committee's support of the natatorium. Bob Hamilton mentioned the approach the Town of Flower Mound takes with their youth after each H.S. game they have activities for the youth including dances, pool tables, ping pong tables, a gaming hall with door prizes donated from the community. The Southlake business community may rally behind this type of project. Joey Milner's Blockbuster stores are a great place to distribute information to the community. Debra Edmondson asked the committee about how to get members of the community involved in the various sub -committees. Brad Bartholomew mentioned that the interest would be greater if the committee waits until after the first forum or conference. Doug Strickland recommended that the sub -committees need to get together before the next meeting to discuss concrete goals and objectives to bring forward for discussion at the next meeting. Jacky Brooks Lawrence stated that the sub -committees should seek members when they are needed. Agenda Item No 8: Adiourn. Prior to adjourning the meeting, Deputy Director of Police Services Gary Gregg informed the committee about the recent death of a 19 year old Southlake resident. The signs indicate it was related to heroin, but the autopsy report is not yet complete. The intelligence information reports show that there has been heroin deaths within the Northeast Tarrant County area. The Department of Public Safety put together a heroin task force with staff to work on incidents and can respond quickly. Their job is to identify friends and links to other heroin users. A month or so ago there was a case at the High School where two young men had LSD and were selling it to another student. The LSD was hidden in a pen. Gary Gregg reiterated the importance of this committee's work. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Submitted by: sk, Shelli Siemer, City of Southlake Approved: I(X) 2220:��_, Debra Edmondson, Co -Chairperson Doug Stri kland, Co -Chairperson