2024-08-07 DEIA Commission Minutes Meeting Summary DEIA Commission August 7, 2024 Page 1
CITY OF EDMONDS EDMONDS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION &
ACCESSIBILITY COMMISSION
August 7, 2024
Meeting conducted via Zoom and in-person at the Brackett Meeting Room COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Jessie Owen, Co-Chair
Rebecca Perrault – via Zoom
Umrah Thomas Rowan Soiset Pam Iverson Patty Narváez-Wheeler
Councilmember Chris Eck, ex-officio
Sofia Marie Castillo, Student Representative
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT Elaine Helm, Co-Chair
Dipti Chrastka
GUESTS PRESENT Ardeth Weed
STAFF PRESENT
Todd Tatum, Director Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator via Zoom
6:03 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 and Absences: Patty read the land acknowledgment. Elaine and Dipti’s absences
are unexcused. 2. Approval of Agenda: Umrah moves to approve the agenda; Patty seconds; approval by consensus. 3. Approval of June 5, 2024 Summary: Rowan moves to approve the summary; Pam seconds; approval by consensus.
4. Public Comment (3 minutes per speaker): None. 5. Update from the City: Todd, Megan, Councilmember Eck: Todd shares the Comp Plan EIS will be ready for review and comments by the end of August. The budget community survey will be pushed out to the community shortly. In addition to the survey, there will be several community outreach opportunities for residents to provide input on the budget.
There will be a citizen group and an internal group that will score the budget priorities built
by the departments. There will also be several focus groups to discuss topics that are highlighted are determined from the results of the community survey. The Council budget retreat will give them an opportunity to develop budget priorities based off the results of the survey.
Councilmember Eck updates shares program of various projects and initiatives, including
the approval of additional bike lanes, the ban on deliberate breeding and sale of companion
Meeting Summary DEIA Commission August 7, 2024 Page 2
animals, and plans for Green Building Incentives. She also addresses concerns about the diversity of voice being heard in the budget discussions and the need for public input.
6. New Business: a. August 13th Council Annual Report: The Commission walks through the Council presentation. Focuses are achievements of the Commission, highlighting their initiatives such as the safe spaces initiative, the creation of a DEIA library, and improvements to accessibility at city events. There is an emphasis of the importance
of grounding the commission's work in the values of diversity, equity, and
inclusion, and suggestions of leveraging data from the equitable engagement framework to focus on disproportionately impacted communities. Rebecca discusses ways to improve the presentation and impact of their work. They agreed to emphasize their commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion through
education, action, and guidance, and to highlight the impact of their work. They also
discussed the importance of relationship building, visibility in the community, using data to support marginalized communities, and advocating for accessibility in their 2024 priorities. Todd to help finalize and format the annual report presentation for the August 13th Council meeting.
b. Commissioner Vacancy: Jessie and Megan explain that Commissioner Kim
Gunning resigned from the Commission. Megan shares the application process and emphasizes the need for the current Commissioners to engage their networks to help fill the vacancy. c. Holiday Market Vendor Guidelines: There is discussion to explore the upcoming
holiday market, considering ways to make it more inclusive and accessible for
smaller artists and hobbyists. The team deliberated on vendor selection, considering factors such as diversity and the potential for sponsoring new vendors. They also discussed the possibility of the Commission having a booth at the market to gather community feedback and the potential for partnering with other organizations.
7. Old Business: a. Book Distribution Plan: b. Grant Program Updates and/or Recs: There is an examination of the grant program's implementation, considering whether it is the best use of funds and exploring alternative investment avenues. Umrah, Dipti and Pam will meet to dive
deeper into the program and bring recommendations back the full Commission for
consideration. c. Land Acknowledgement Update – Next Steps: Rebecca discussed updating the land acknowledgement, emphasizing the need to include tribal communities and document the reasoning. They proposed drafting a memo with recommendations for
a call to action for the City Council. Pam to draft a rough memo for the land
acknowledgement update, including problem statement, background, and recommendations. 8. Committee Updates: a. Executive: Discussions were held around the upcoming National Hispanic Heritage
Month proclamation, considering the term "Latinx" versus "Latina/o." Potential
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recipients were discussed, and outreach will take place to find an appropriate recipient.
b. City Engagement & Visibility: i. Climate Action Board Request: • . Climate action efforts were discussed, with a focus on incorporating diverse perspectives, including tribal voices and youth engagement. Rowan will connect interested diverse individuals with the Edmonds Climate Advisory Board.
c. Community Engagement & Visibility: i. Centering Edmonds Impacted Communities: Patty explains briefly that she’s been working on grounding statement to add to the agendas and incorporate learnings into future presentations. d. Data Update: Group has no update as work is complete for now.
e. Calendar Update: No update. 9. Commissioner’s Corner: Rowan raises their concerns about the possibility that Human Services may be cut from the budget and the of potential of the Hwy 99 Neighborhood Office closing.
Adjourn – 8:09PM
Next meeting: September 4, 2024, at 6:00PM