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2021-06-02 Diversity Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS DIVERSITY COMMISSION June 2, 2021 Meeting conducted via Zoom COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Ardeth Weed, Chair Dean Olson, Vice -Chair Nikki Okimoto Glaros Mindy Woods Sarah Mixson Alison Alfonzo Pence Sekou Kon6 Donnie Griffin Caitlin Chung, Student Rep Councilmember Luke Distelhorst, ex officio COMMISSIONERS ABSENT Alberto Orejel Malfav6n - unexcused GUESTS PRESENT Angela Harris Owen Lee, Youth Commission Chair Jessie Owen STAFF PRESENT Patrick Doherty, Director Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator Economic Development & Community Services Arwen Marohn, Commission Coordinator 6:00 P.M. — Call to Order and Land Acknowledgement: "We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish)people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water." - City Council Land Acknowledgment 1. Roll Call: Ardeth called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. Mindy read the land acknowledgement. 2. Approval of Agenda: Agenda approved by consensus. 3. Approval of May 5, 2021 Summary: Approved by consensus. 4. Public Comment: Jessie Owen wants to see a focus on equity and resources for everyone with disabilities. 5. Update from the City: Patrick Doherty Council is considering Asian and Pacific Islander resolution on hate crimes, which will be shared later in the meeting for Diversity Commission input. City staff have attended an Equity Roadmap workshop and more information will be shared soon. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission June 2, 2021 Page 1 • July 12t1i at 6:30 in person townhall with the Mayor to discuss hate and hate crimes in the city. Patrick requested that a representative of the Diversity Commission attend, either the Chair or Vice Chair. • Night Market starting up in Edmonds July 8, Aug 12 and Sept 9, 4-9 pm Behind the Safeway and Lutheran Church. There will be music, vendors, food at the "Uptown Evening Market". Open house 30' of June for Highway 99 Renewal project. They are soliciting ideas for vendors, food trucks and merchants. Patrick is engaging with local merchants and inviting them to participate at a reduced rate. • Dean's report to Council is scheduled for next Tuesday evening. Patrick encourages Commissioners to attend. • Patrick asked the Commission for coming up with ways to support the proclamations that are being presented by the Mayor. • Per Governor's orders, businesses and establishments are going to open up at the end of this month with 100% occupancy. City Hall will be opened up on the 12' of July. We will be meeting in person in the beginning of August. Employees can request via a form that they have been vaccinated and then they can be given permission to cease wearing a mask. Patrick does not know yet about requirements for Commissioners. Luke mentioned the delivered gun violence proclamation as well as this coming week proclamation on Pride Month and Proclamation for Juneteenth on the 15t''. He recommended that the Commission attend and represent. Alison asked about the Equity Roadmap consultants and if any City staff were people of color. Patrick responded they are Armstead Consulting (Karen and Bob Armstead). Patrick does not know the specific ethnic background of his staff. Donnie acknowledged Dean's work with ADA legislation with closed captioning. He recognizes it has been a big struggle for him in Edmonds. He also acknowledged Luke in taking a lead for a proclamation for Juneteenth. He expressed disappointment that Patrick doesn't know ethnicity of his team and shared his thoughts on the importance of knowing people and learning about their ethnicity and history. Patrick said he's not allowed to ask that question, while he acknowledges that it's a good question and understands the value. Mindy asked if we are flying a pride flag. Patrick shared the Mayor asked about that and where can we have one. Suggests we add this item to new business. 6. Youth Commission Update: Owen Lee — Chair of Edmonds Youth Commission. • They are currently working on structural changes, annual report for Council, wrapping things up. • This year they divided into committees within the Youth Commission: Environmental, Youth, Mental Health and DEIs committee. • In December they changed their format so they are not meeting over the summer. • Recruitment will be late August and early September. • They will be presenting an annual report soon to Council • This year has been their most successful year. • First year for an Instagram account and if the Diversity Commission has anything to forward to them, please do. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission June 2, 2021 Page 2 • Working with Council member on AAPI hate crimes. Donnie shared he's very excited to get this report! Mindy says she has been following them on Instagram and says great job! Caitlin also congratulated them on how far they've come. Ardeth also thanked Caitlin for attending ours. 7. Old Business: a. Summary of Retreat Priorities and Sub -Group Assignments - Arwen Policy subcommittee - Dean, Nikki, Alberto, Alison 1. Civil Rights Office 2. ADA Accessibility 3. District -Based Council Positions Partnership and Outreach - Mindy, Sarah, Alison, Donnie, Caitlyn • Equity Toolkit • Highway 99 Community Building • Resource compilation for both Contacts in the Community and Community Resources Events - Sarah, Ardeth and Alberto • Indigenous Peoples Day • Continuing Films • 4th of July • lam Edmonds Subgroup: Accessibility Language - Mindy, Caitlyn & Seikou 8. Subgroup Reports: a. Policy - Dean is going to make immediate policy recommendations so that it's on the Council agenda before July 4' 1. If misdemeanors include a hate crime element, recommend full sentencing and require DEI training for the individual 2. All City employees receive DEI, EEO, and AA training. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission June 2, 2021 Page 3 3. The City needs to implement a multiyear budget that would fund the $7 million backlog in Funds for ADA projects. 4. Hire an ADA Coordinator (requires someone who is trained and licensed in ADA requirements/laws). Donnie recommended that we have discussions with Judge Rivera and others in the Municipal Court to make sure we are approaching this in a way that will effect change. Luke concurred with Donnie and shared that this will take time, but they are a good resource and can direct the committee. Mindy shared IDEA — inclusion, diversity, equity and anti -racism. Donnie wants to know what outcome we want and that will lead us to what training we want to propose. What statement do we have in place? What is the vision? What is the accountability? Patrick suggested we invite the consultant team that is working with city staff on the Equity Roadmap to explain their process or perhaps share a written document. Dean suggested they attend a policy meeting. Bob and Karen Armstead — Armstead Consulting. Donnie recommended the talk with Judge Rivera about ADA compliance. Perhaps the City assigns an employee in each department that watches for those issues along with the HR department in lieu of an ADA coordinator Patrick reminded everyone that the 2022 budget is starting soon and that maybe we can consider submitting a budget proposal. Patrick recommended taking this approach to move forward: • Create a formal draft from the Policy Committee • Review with the Diversity Commission • Then proceed to the next level Luke recommended having these in writing for policy statement and suggested to review what was discussed with Council last month. b. Partnerships & Outreach — Alison — Last meeting was on May 20' She discussed the committee's findings with various cities who have office of civil rights and we are still in research stage. Many cities have the ability for people to report an incident locally. This committee will push to policy committee when research is completed. The committee discussed creating short videos on teaching tolerance issues toward end of year. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission June 2, 2021 Page 4 AAPI community — Mayor asked for info to meet with leaders. The committee is working on resources and will have more info next month. Discussed highway 99 and need to organize in that area. Not just night markets, but needs such as programs, parks, The committee didn't have time to cover the equity toolkit. She mentioned having a 2nd meeting and splitting up the work Donnie asked if we were looking at cities similar in size to Edmonds with human rights departments. Alison shared that the research includes cities of various sizes. b. Events — Sarah shared that the events committee had a great meeting. Mike Evans, Father of the Blue Heron Canoe People, visited and gave a great tutorial on how to approach the local Indigenous community regarding Indigenous Peoples Day. The suggestion is to start small and have only a few people approach elders one on one. He encouraged us to persevere. We want to open resources to help support an event they want to do. Don't know if we have time by Oct. 11', but at least we can lay the groundwork. The committee recommends an educational approach for this year in order for residents to understand their culture and history — create modest, respectful programs, make connections, and share our intention. Storytelling is key too according to Mike. Maybe have a storytelling program, share public readings, documentaries, podcasts and engage. Arwen mentioned maybe looking into creating a reconciliation and truth organization. Alison recommended a stipend be given to anyone from the Indigenous communities who is willing to work with the City/Commission. July 4t'', they are hoping to do the parade (NOT the children's parade) and fireworks. Commission agreed to march behind the banner this year. Arwen can share on FB and put it out and share. Recruit friends, family and cohorts. c. Language Accessibility — Mindy shared that the parks thru the Pros Plan is reaching out to underserved communities and connecting with people where English is not native language and that piecing together different leaders that could be part of the work. Patrick said they haven't set up a community advisory committee yet. 9. New Business: a. Discussion of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding priorities — Patrick said the City will receive, this year and next year, up to $9.3 million thru 2024 and maybe 2026. Categories include household recovery, business recovery (specifically hit sectors), helping cities to respond to health and emergency preparedness. We have to be mindful that new variants of COVID can appear and we may need funding later if things take a downturn. We don't want to duplicate efforts. Some ideas from the Commission: Meeting Summary Diversity Commission June 2, 2021 Page 5 Ardeth: Civil Rights Office Donnie: Equal Access for Disability — all forms, everywhere Dean: Set up free wife hotspots around the city immediately Mindy: community center with access to hotspots, vocational specialists Alison: Rotary could make the park more robust for the children with disabilities Arwen: free public transportation for those who need it and childcare cost help Guest: Community center 99 with aid and resources Sarah: Support of art and artists Meeting was extended to 8:15 PM and was approved by consensus Patrick introduced the Council's draft AAPI Resolution and asked for feedback. Comments: Dean said first line saying the virus came from "China" should be deleted (we don't know) Donnie said where it lists an increase in hate crimes, it should say the "reported" increase Nikki agrees with both comments from Dean and Donnie. Patrick shared that the Youth commission feels we need to focus more on a call to action as that is more effective than a resolution. Everyone agreed. Pride Flag Location— Municipal location was suggested Dean recommends we consider having flags displayed for other events and holiday too. 10. Commissioner's Corner: Donnie: Acknowledge Juneteenth is coming up and Arwen is doing an excellent job at coordinating as the project director. He hopes the Diversity Commission will share on their website and social media. He also recognized Luke in his work on the proclamation. Help us share this celebration! Mindy: Will not be joining the 4' of July parade Meeting Summary Diversity Commission June 2, 2021 Page 6 Ardeth: Mentioned the last film was a bust again because of technology. She shared we need ideas on planning the next film festival and to suggest topics and email Arwen so she can bring them to the next meeting. Adjourn — 8:16 PM Next meeting: Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at 6:00 PM, Zoom Meeting Summary Diversity Commission June 2, 2021 Page 7