Board Openings. We Want, No, Need, You.

We have six regular Boards at the present time.  Planning and Zoning and Code Compliance are our most critical Boards, they have statutory influence over BP residents, and they are full.  Either one can accept alternate members, in case a regular member announces in advance that he or she will not be able to attend a given meeting.

Code Review is not a regular Board, and it has at least one opening.  This Committee is ad hoc, although it has been going on for at least four years, and it is charged with reviewing and possibly revising the BP Codes.  Much of its work is most likely done, and it would be hard to join this group this late in its life.

Recreation Advisory has at least one opening.

Parks and Parkways probably has two openings, although the "alternate" should be a regular, and there should only be one regular opening.

The Ecology Board probably has no openings, but any Board can accept alternate members.

The Biscayne Park Foundation has at least two openings.  It needs more members, and they should have relevant expertise (relevant to fund-raising) and leadership skills.  You hear what I'm saying, right Sylvia and Steve T?

The Commission decided in its January meeting to start a new Board.  This would be an arts committee, and it would be charged at least with approving public art for Biscayne Park.  It has not been discussed whether it would also find art and raise funds to acquire art.  The minimum advisable requirement is familiarity with and fondness for, if not "expertise" in, art.  (Amy?  Susan W?  Susana?  Dan C?  Judi, you're on a Board already.  I know, Louie, you're too busy and out of town too much.  Come on, David T, think this through again.  You'd make Barbara happy.)

All Board meetings are open to anyone who wants to attend, and Boards can have more members than are needed.  Extra members would be listed as alternates, and they can either attend meetings if they are called upon (if an absence is announced in advance), or they can simply attend and be part of meetings. Technically, they can't vote if the full slate of regular members is present.  No one, however, would ignore their counsel.

There is a new form, and it's called the "Board Member Application."  It's at Village Hall.  Anyone interested in any Board should fill out this form.  The form indicates your interest and availability, and you can contact individual Commissioners as well.  We might be moving away from a system in which Board applicants had to be sponsored by a given Commissioner, so the personal backing is less important than it was.

If you think you might be interested, but you're not sure, or you're not sure what a given Board is about, feel free to attend meetings of any of them.  The meeting schedule is in the Village website at www.biscayneparkfl.gov.