2017-05-03 Diversity Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS
DIVERSITY COMMISSION
May 3, 2017
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Ed Dorame — Chair
Maria Montalvo — Vice Chair left at 7:47 p.m.
Tung Bui
Diana White left at 7:49 p.m.
Dean Olson
Pat Valle arrived at 6:16
Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas,
ex officio
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT
Mario Brown
Donnie Griffin
STAFF PRESENT
Patrick Doherty, ED/CS Director
Cindi Cruz, ED/CS Program Coordinator
Misha Carter, Diversity Commission Coord.
1. Roll Call: Call to order at 6:01 p.m. Mario is absent and excused.
2. Approval of Agenda: The agenda amended and approved by consensus.
3. Approval of Meeting Summary of April 5 and April 21: Summary minutes approved as
submitted by consensus.
4. Public Comment: Ardeth Weed brought a yard sign with a welcoming message in 6
languages and advised the signs are available at Fabric of Life on Main Street in Edmonds.
5. Update from the City: Census letter and Diversity Commission response to swastika
incident — Patrick Doherty reviewed the letter regarding the recently initiated removal of
LGBTQ from the US Census Bureau count in 2020 sent to Senators Murray and Cantwell and
U.S. Representative Jayapal on behalf of the Commission. Ed read the letter aloud to the
Commission and audience. Diana asked how many people this would affect regarding the
LGBTQ population? Unknown and if the requirement to count the LGBTQ population is
removed there will be no way to know how many individuals are not counted. Maria
commented that a commonly used figure is 11 % of the population are LGBTQ based on
estimates. There was discussion on the ramifications of not counting this population group.
Maria discussed the swastika incident and read response by the Diversity Commission posted
on the Facebook page. Patrick discussed contents of handout for Commission reference:
code/mission, talking points, standard incident response, and business cards. Tung discussed
talking points regarding request to speak at Rotary and discuss immigration issues. Would not
speak on behalf of the commission but on behalf of himself. Talking points from protocol
really address being asked to speak on behalf of the Commission. Discussion regarding draft
code amendment about attendance to address concerns about attendance. Three consecutive
absences or four in one year if unexcused means a Commissioner would lose their position on
Commission. Provision for excusing absences are: let chair know and excusable reasons are
illness, work, and/or vacation in excess of two weeks. Consensus agreed to move draft for
approval by City Council. The grants program draft was reviewed for discussion. Vacancy on
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Diversity Commission
May 3, 2017
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commission has been advertised and applications are due 5/16. The Commission could meet
in special meeting to conduct interviews, select, and send to council for confirmation.
Consensus reached to have a special meeting on May 31 at 5 p.m. to interview.
6. Retreat review and discuss:
Discussion on revising code regarding attendance policy. Subtitle for Commission's mission
— for approval. Diversity, Inclusion, Equity. Go to retreat minutes: do you want this to be
written on agendas? Need to wordsmith for simplicity and conciseness. Could replace the
wording on the agenda in the footer. Patrick and Maria will work on wording and present at
next meeting. Diana thought there was really good discussion, nice to not to have to hurry; Ed
appreciated getting to know fellow commissioners better; Dean liked having the Council
members attend and express their opinions; Pat was sorry to have missed beginning of retreat,
spend more time on what motivates the different commissioners to be participants in the
commission; Diana states that sharing why they are in this work — could take turns at regular
meetings; Ed commented that everyone is different with different approaches and respectful
of each other.
7. 2017 Work Plan:
Policy Sub -group update: Ed stated he, Donnie and Pat had met with the Mayor and HR
Director at City. Ed discussed meeting with Mary Anne Hardie, HR Director. Ask same
questions of all and sent them ahead of time. Mary Ann stated the City goes through
Diversity training once every three years. Discussed how employment openings are
advertised. There are 24 out of 209 employees with the City that are identified as other than
white which is 11.4%. There are 65 females out of 209 — 31% of employee population. Ms.
Hardie is willing to work with Diversity Commission on issues of hiring practices. Next the
sub -group will interview Police Chief Compaan. Meet with City directors first then will be
meeting with community leaders. More emphasis in City policies to encourage applications
and hire diverse employee population. Slow process in changing policies for hiring. Gather
information and then disperse to commission as a whole, obtain feedback, and make
recommendations to City Council for improvements. Pat discussed meeting with Mayor
Earling. Mayor feels comfortable with directors, very good at delegating to directors,
encouraged sub -group to interview the directors. Question asked: How do you respond to
community that questions need for diversity commission — did not answer easily. Mayor
understands that commission is important. Did not know all of policies required of staff in
general to meet diversity requirements. General feeling that Mayor would be responsive to
commission issues/ideas. Diana asked if there was a mechanism to audit the City regarding
diversity policies. Could be self -audit or outside company reviewing the policies etc. hiring
and training. How does the commission go about making change happen regarding policies
on hiring and training city employees. Benchmark with comparable cities. Find cities to be
comparable and role models for Edmonds. Need to establish achievable targets for improving
diverse hiring practices and general employee policies. Encouraging that City is receptive.
Partnership Sub -group update: Need updated partner list and encourage partners to share
information with Diversity Commission. Web page will have resource listing by headings and
topics. Partners could be in Edmonds, Snohomish County, and/or State of WA. What and
how do they serve the Edmonds community? Identify real people in these organizations as
points of contact.
Events Sub -group update: Tung discussed events and agrees that mini grants could have a
tremendous impact without having to have commission work on. Youth event based on
World Cafe have at school; Fourth of July need to start planning now, partnership groups,
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church groups, Edmonds Indivisible, coordinate for participation; fall speaker series or event
with churches are successful in this type of thing contact United Methodist Church for
partnership ideas; World Cafe for adults hopeful for wider audience; movie/film series
Patrick discussing with Edmonds Theater, ECA wants to be involved but thought it would be
better at smaller venue than the ECA. Monday afternoons or evening at movie theater could
be a good time to hold film series; run through academic year start in fall, commissioner to
attend and speak at each event. Asked Patrick to forward e-mail regarding film series.
Commissioners prefer film series over speaker series. Focus on four events and drop speaker
series at this time. Patrick will get some budget info on film series. There should be ample
budget for one grant request this year. Approve items by consensus to move forward.
8. Indigenous Day resolution:
Establish timeline and workflow. Diana will work with policy committee on this project.
Meet with Patrick on resolutions to determine how best to proceed. Will bring subject back to
commission in August for approval by City Council well in advance of October date. This
will allow ample time to be publicized.
9. New Business, Commissioner's Corner:
Adiourn: 7:50 PM — Next regular meeting: June 7, 2017, 6 PM
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Diversity Commission
May 3, 2017
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