The young professional demographic that can’t attend morning meetings will get a chance to speak their mind about unincorporated West Boynton and participate in community meetings.
After 30 years of only having morning meetings, the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations will have a meeting at night to cater to the younger crowd that would like to participate in meetings but simply cannot.
The meeting, featuring Palm Beach County School Board member Frank Barbieri, will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at the West Boynton Library, 9451 Jog Road. The library has a capacity of 80 people.
Almost half of COBWRA’s 88 communities with more than 100,000 West Boynton residents are ones where most people work and have young families to keep in mind.
Carol Lindsey, the association manager at the Villas of Pine Tree since 1989, said she is the delegate for her community with COBWRA but has not been able to attend meetings because, like others, she is working.
“It is hard to even find someone to volunteer to go in my place at 10 a.m.,” she said. “A later meeting will make it easier to attend.”
Lindsey said the late meeting is at the least a good effort.
“We’ll see what happens,” she said.
COBWRA President Ken Lassiter said that more than 200 people now attend the morning meetings but there are so many more who cannot.
Lassiter said this new night meeting is only the beginning.
“This is something we have talked about for years,” he said. “When I was elected last year, it was one of my goals to make this happen.”
He said the new night meeting was something that could possibly happen three to four times a year in addition to the regular morning ones.
“I haven’t heard anyone say it is a bad idea,” he said.
Stuart Hershman is a COBWRA delegate from Bella Verde who has had trouble getting residents to come out to his own community’s meetings.
“I don’t know if it is they think we are doing a good job or are just apathetic,” he said. “As for the night meetings, I think it is really something they have to do. It is a way to get the younger members involved.”
For information, call 561740-9835 or e-mail familymeeting@cobwra.org.
Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.