By Cheryl Blackerby
The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District commissioners discussed the need for tablet computers at their Sept. 22 meeting.
Commissioners, who presently use their private computers for district business, quizzed Bob Pawa, representative from Experis Technology Group, about the pros and cons of Apple, Google and Microsoft devices.
The district’s legal counsel, Arthur Koski, advised commissioners that they should use district tablets for public business, and not personal computers, to make complying with public records requests on Sunshine Law issues easier. Commissioners risk having forensic teams going through their families’ private computers or even their professional work computers if there’s an investigation, he said.
Koski told commissioners he would bring back a proposal with prices on the tablets at the next meeting.
Commissioners discussed the need to place district meeting agendas and other timely information on the district website — www.mybocaparks.org — for the public. Now, residents have to call to find out any date changes in meetings. As of Oct. 24, the Web notices were a month behind. A notice of a Sept. 24 budget hearing was still on the website. The week earlier there was no mention of the Oct. 22 meeting, which was postponed from the regular meeting date of Oct. 15.
Regular meetings are at 5:15 p.m. the first and third Mondays of each month in the community center at Sugar Sand Park. Call 347-3900 for meeting information.
Another issue at the meeting was raising the pay for commissioners (they make $80 per meeting) and for Koski.
“You guys are serving basically as volunteers,” Koski said. “When I talk to people in the community, they ask if it’s a compensated position. If you consider all the work necessary outside the two meetings a month, it is not compensation. I would like to do a little bit of analysis as to how much time each of the commissioners spends in this job — because it is a job — compared to other districts out there.”
Commissioner Robert Rollins then brought up the need for more money for Koski. “We keep piling on responsibilities (for Koski),” said Rollins. “We should consider some additional compensation for the work he’s doing. He’s not asking for it (more compensation). I want everybody to know that.”
Chairman Earl Starkoff said that the budget included a commission seat that has been empty since January, and Koski had been doing some of those duties. He asked Koski to discuss his duties with Rollins, the commission’s treasurer, and asked Rollins to report back to the commission.
Starkoff recognized Countess Henrietta de Hoernle, who turned 100 in September. She attended the grand opening Oct. 13 of the 80-acre Countess de Hoernle Park, an athletic park that includes four soccer fields and four softball/baseball fields next to a lake. The park is a joint project between the city of Boca Raton and the Beach and Park District. It’s part of a 175-acre tract of former IBM land along Interstate 95.
“The countess came out not just because it was named after her. She thought it was a worthwhile civic asset. She hadn’t gotten involved in athletic endeavors before, and she was really happy about it, ” said Starkoff, adding that the countess sat with members of the boys rugby team.
At the next meeting, commissioners will look at annexation issues.
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