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2022-07-06 Diversity Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS DIVERSITY COMMISSION RETREAT I July 6, 2022 Meeting conducted via Zoom COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Dean Olson, Chair Nikki Okimoto Glaros, Vice -Chair Ardeth Weed Gracelynn Shibayama Robert White (from Waterfront Center) Elaine Helm Sekou Kone Councilmember Will Chen, ex officio COMMISSIONERS ABSENT Alberto Orejel Malfavon, unexcused Alison Pence, unexcused GUESTS PRESENT None STAFF PRESENT Molly Jay, Diversity Commission Coordinator STAFF ABSENCE Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator Economic Development & Community Services (excused) 6:02 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 Acknowledament 1. Roll Call and Absences: Dean called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Nikki read the land acknowledgement. 2. Approval of Agenda: Ardeth moved to approve, Gracelynn seconded; the agenda was approved by consensus. 3. Approval of June 1, 2022 Summary: Ardeth moved to approve, Elaine seconded; the summary was approved by consensus. 4. Public Comment: None. 5. Update from the City (Will Chen) Will Chen gave updates on the Highway 99 revitalization project and the Juneteenth event. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission July 6, 2022 Page 1 6. Old Business: A. Fourth of July Parade: Nikki reported that the Commission was well - received at the parade and all went well. Gracelynn talked about need to update banner; it's outdated, and the font is small. When we change the Commission name, we could update the banner at the same time. Ardeth suggested a weighted banner so it doesn't blow in the wind so much. B. Juneteenth event: The Commission helped organize the event and it was a success. Ardeth shared the event was well attended. Robert shared that we missed the mark on not having an official Juneteenth event sponsored by our Commission and expressed that we need to step up as a commission on supporting these diversity events. Nikki suggested getting more city support in general around proclamations and events —this is a missing piece that Patrick provided in the past. C. Annual report: Dean shared his screen and walked the commissioners through the latest version of the 2022 Annual Report presentation for City Council. The commissioners gave some feedback: don't use "hate portal" in the deck and add in ADA recs; Nikki recommended having a lead from each committee give their updates to Council. Robert asked if we could have more than five minutes for each committee to present regardless of usual 5- minute tradition and asked how we can request and get approved to have more time to present our Annual Report to Council. Dean responded that the process is difficult to change and recommended he present the Annual Report solely to Council. Will mentioned importance of having more diversity show up to present on our behalf. Molly will send out updated deck after the meeting for final feedback. D. Discussion on presenting the DEI toolkit & Language Document: Gracelynn talked about the language document and the importance of each Commissioner of reading and offering feedback on it. Ardeth and Gracelynn plan to present the toolkit and language doc together to groups, organizations and businesses around the city. Ardeth shared feedback from Chamber of Commerce that the toolkit was "overwhelming"; Elaine recommended pulling pieces out of the toolkit and new language doc and using them on social media and in our prospective newsletter to pull people into the longform versions. 7. Committee Reports: A. Policy — Dean (1 minute) No meeting in June; no updates. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission July 6, 2022 Page 2 B. Partnerships & Outreach — Alison (1 minute) Elaine had no substantial updates. C. Events — (4 minutes) Molly gave quick update on the 2023 film series selection process and progress. Dean added two new movies to be reviewed by Events Committee for possible inclusion in the series. 8. Commissioner's Corner (42 minutes) Robert wanted to know if unofficial meeting notes can be shared with commissioners before they're approved? Robert didn't see any Fourth of July emails until day of. Losing Patrick was a great blow to the city, but did all our power lie in Patrick? Expressed concern that we're not getting much done. If we have no power and if we're just here to write documents, we need to understand that and why we exist. What is the process for getting our approved recommendations in front of Council and can we speed it up? Dean referenced lack of city staff and inability to move quickly. Sekou asked if we could march in relevant parades with various personal flags and is there a way for us to show up in a more organized, branded way? Would have liked to have seem more money put into our parade presence. Sekou asked if City Council has responded to any recommendations we've made so far? Will would like to speed up process of publishing approved meeting notes and offered insight on expediting the recommendation process as well. Molly explained the timeline of recording and approving and posting approved minutes from the previous month's meeting. Gracelynn echoed Sekou. Let's have more community, more fun, more representation of who we really are at events like Fourth of July parade. Nikki would like to get Susan McLaughlin on the agenda for next month or Sept. around the Reimagining Neighborhoods meetings. Elaine asked if our recommendations can be posted anywhere outside of just going to and disappearing within City Council. Dean responded that once recs are sent to Council, we can publish them on social, newsletters, wherever. Gracelynn said it would be good to send an email to Commissioners about the process of presenting recs to City Council. Elaine inquired about recruitment for incoming commissioner positions, when does it begin and when do we begin opening those positions? Dean will email. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission July 6, 2022 Page 3 Adjourn — 7:53 PM Next meeting: Wednesday, August 4, 2022 at 6:OOPM Meeting Summary Diversity Commission July 6, 2022 Page 4