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2016-05-04 Diversity Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS DIVERSITY COMMISSION May 4, 2016 The Diversity Commission meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m. by Ed Dorame at 220 Railroad Avenue, Edmonds. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Ed Dorame — Vice Chair George Basioli Diana White Gayle Ketzel Patricia Valle Tung Bui Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, ex officio COMMISSIONERS ABSENT Mario Brown — Chair Maria Montalvo Adam Khan STAFF PRESENT Patrick Doherty, ED/CS Director Cindi Cruz, ED/CS Program Coordinator Michele Rastovich, Diversity Commission Coordinator 1. Roll Call: Call to order at 6:04 p.m. George reminded Commissioners that a voice roll call is most helpful to him. 2. Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved as submitted by consensus 3. Approval of Summary Minutes of April 20, 2016: By consensus, summary minutes were approved with amendment and corrections. 4. Public Comment: None 5. Report from City: Patrick distributed Protocol and Talking Points to be used as a guide for Commissioners during speaking engagements, key informant interviews and talking with the press. This final version incorporates suggestions by made by Commission over the last two weeks. It was suggested that this document be placed with the work plan and mission statement in a folder to have handy when speaking publicly. The City held a mandatory diversity and sexual harassment training session for all employees. The focus encouraged recognition of all the types of diversity in the workplace, and was aimed at the employee rather than the employer. Ed asked about this type of training for Commissioners and Boards. Patrick will find out if Commission could participate in trainings. The City survey will be translated into Spanish and will be sent to 2200 randomly chosen households. A letter to citizens advising them that the survey is coming will be sent in the next couple of weeks, followed by a reminder post card encouraging participation. The City is also involved in an ongoing waterfront access study and Highway 99 planning. Demographic data from the Census will be brought to next meeting. Meeting Summary Diversity Commission May 4, 2016 Page 1 6. Community Outreach: Parade Plan: Tung reviewed plans for Commission participation in the 4th of July Parade, including inviting the April 20 Forum participants, reaching out to the community and using press releases and social media to invite participation, encouraging folks to walk in their cultural attire, and purchasing plastic leis for all to wear to show our unity. Tung also presented a sample banner and discussed costs. It was suggested that the City logo be made smaller to look less institutional than other City sponsored events, and words like `accepting' and `respecting' be added to `celebrating diversity.' Patrick and Diana will work on finding a more inclusive graphic and, by consensus, were authorized to design the final banner. The Commission's intent is to keep costs as low as possible, and by consensus, it was agreed to spend no more than $400 on this event. Patrick will create a press release and invitation to our current mailing list for distribution closer to the event. Commissioners were encouraged to participate and to invite others. Pat expressed reservations about parade, and suggested it might be more helpful to survey crowds regarding what they find accepting or not accepting in Edmonds at parade rather than just marching in the parade. Discussion included that it is a good start with a feel -good event; a card like the Lynnwood Diversity Commission uses could be distributed; a Marysville example of using young people to interview visitors and note zip codes; most of the parade watchers are not local, and navigating around the parade watchers is not practical. Commissioners, in general, like the idea of an in -person survey, but suggested that other local events, like the Summer Market or Music in the Park might be more appropriate venues. Patrick noted that the City survey will include one diversity question and will forward the survey questions to the Commission. Patrick, Pat, and Adrienne will meet to propose a plan for Commissioners to consider at the June meeting. The Lynnwood Diversity Commission postcard will also be discussed further at the June meeting. 7. Community Outreach — Update on invitation to Refugee and Immigrant Forum: Michele had nothing to report and will update at next meeting. 8. Work Plan Recommendation: Michele reviewed the Work Plan April Update and presented a proposed Work Plan by Quarter, based on the April 20 discussion. Most work will need to be done outside of regular meetings by sub committees. Proposed projects include: presentation from Refugee and Immigrant Forum, Key Informant Interviews, a community forum, perhaps using the World Caf6 Model, a Youth Forum, and some kinds training or intentional meaningful dialogue with City and community leaders. High priority items from the April 20 meeting were: don't over stack agendas; learning more about best practices of community inclusion; learning more about City demographics, and insuring that the Community Update is always included in the regular meeting agendas. There was some discussion about the work plan goal of learning more about public policies that either encourage or discourage inclusiveness and this will need more discussion. Commissioners were asked to review the draft plan, especially consider the proposed projects of a Youth Forum, a World Caf6 event, and an intentional training or discussion with leaders. The plan will be discussed further at the May meeting. It was also suggested that the Commission report to Council at about the six-month point. 9. Adjourn: 7:36 PM — Next regular meeting: June 1, 2016, 6 PM Meeting Summary Diversity Commission May 4, 2016 Page 2