BY DON FINEFROCK

 Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas called Wednesday for a stronger, more
 effective Community Relations Board to address long-standing tensions laid bare
 by the battle over Elian Gonzalez.

 The mayor met over lunch with three dozen community leaders to talk about
 Miami's latest crisis in community relations, the problems caused by federal
 immigration law and the lack of economic development in the black community.

 ``These are issues that we need to tackle,'' Penelas said.

 Efforts to revitalize the Community Relations Board stalled last year after board
 members and staff, the county manager and Miami-Dade commissioners could
 not agree on a proposed reorganization.

 The board has been criticized in recent weeks for not taking more active steps to
 defuse the anger and frustration felt by Cuban Americans and others with starkly
 different views of the international tug of war over Elian.

 Board chairman Sang Whang said CRB efforts to address the crisis have been
 hampered by a lack of resources, but others say the board has lost some of its
 clout over the years. The board was created in 1963 to foster better relations
 among ethnic groups.

 ``There was a time when the CRB had really top, top, highly respected
 community leaders,'' County Manager Merrett Stierheim said. ``During times of
 high tension, we mobilized.''

 Board members are appointed by the County Commission. Ten of 26 positions
 are currently vacant. ``The CRB must be revamped,'' Penelas said. ``It must be
 given a higher priority.''

 The mayor asked Stierheim and other members of the group to prepare a
 proposal in 15 days that he can take to the County Commission.

 Whang said a group of former board chairmen and a senior assistant to Stierheim
 have been working on such a proposal and the job is nearly done.

 ``This is not a new recommendation. They have been working on a restructuring,''
 said Whang, who participated in the lunch meeting.

 Penelas also disclosed Wednesday that his office is preparing a white paper on
 how federal immigration policy affects different communities in the county.

 The mayor said community leaders should press Washington to review how
 children such as Elian, Haitians and other groups are treated under the law.

 Penelas said he plans to ask the mayors of other large cities to support the
 initiative. Virginia Sanchez, director of intergovernmental affairs in the mayor's
 office, is coordinating the effort.

 The mayor also expressed frustration over the lack of economic development in
 black neighborhoods. African Americans and others identify that economic gap as
 long-standing source of tension in the community.

 ``It is a serious problem, and it has to be looked at,'' Penelas said.

 Instead of creating a new organization or initiative, the mayor said the county
 should streamline its approach to economic development by finding one
 organization to spearhead those efforts.

 ``We have too many bureaucracies,'' he said.

 Penelas called on Marty Pinkston, chairman of the Miami Metro Action Plan, to
 lead the effort to find a new approach to economic development.

 Economic development, federal immigration policy and the need to strengthen the
 Community Relations Board were identified as priorities Monday, when Penelas
 first asked community leaders to come together to discuss the crisis.

 Much of that meeting was closed to reporters.

 Members of the group include religious leaders, representatives of private
 organizations, county boards and public agencies.

 They are exploring ways to bridging the ethnic divide over Elian -- by promoting
 more dialogue among communities, holding interfaith services and by encouraging
 people to wear white ribbons as a symbol of peace.

 Penelas sported a white ribbon on his lapel Wednesday.

 ``These are little symbolic gestures that we can do,'' said Valerie Taylor of Taylor
 Communications and a member of Many Voices One Community. ``What is
 important is that the ribbons are coupled with a mission.''

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald