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2018-11-07 Diversity Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS DIVERSITY COMMISSION November 7, 2018 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Diana White, Chair Ed Dorame Maria Montalvo Dean Olson Sarah Mixson Brian Potter Anabel Hovig Donnie Griffin, Vice -Chair Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, ex officio COMMISSIONERS ABSENT Pat Valle (excused) ELECTED OFFICIALS AND STAFF PRESENT Patrick Doherty, ED/CS Director Cindi Cruz, ED/CS Program Coordinator Misha Carter, Diversity Commission Coordinator 1. Roll Call: Call to order at 6:03 p.m. Pat Valle excused due to illness. 2. Approval of Agenda: The agenda approved by consensus. 3. Approval of Meeting Summary of October 3, 2018: Summary minutes approved as submitted by consensus. 4. Public Comment: Melissa Boswell from Meadowdale HS gave an update on the equity event held on 10/24 at MHS. Consistent comments throughout the event were to focus on mental health, problem solving, and it was a very positive event based on the participation by the students. Approximately 700 students did not attend, however, by calling in sick, etc., and there is concern about those students not getting the information others did receive. Edmonds Woodway HS has expressed interest in having a similar event at their school. Mindy Woods spoke about the MHS event and her experiences with the group she worked with. David Ortiz from the Communities of Color Coalition (0) stated the Conference on Race conference planning committee is wrapping up. The event is scheduled for April 20, 2019 at Everett Community College. They are expecting 400 participants due to prominent keynote speakers. The Diversity Commission is invited to hold a 90-minute workshop about the Edmonds Diversity Commission and/or to have an information table. Ardeth Weed has distributed up film series posters along Highway 99 businesses. 5. Grand Alliance Proiect Discussion — Partnership/Communications/Grants Sub -group: Patrick discussed the three ideas that had been voted on by the Commission at the October meeting. 1. Write your story and/or a story wall; 2. Night market; and 3. Everybody says hello campaign. A story wall could be online, an example was given of a project in Lynnwood you could write your story on paper and then hang the paper on a tree. A night market was considered several years ago on Hwy 99 and it would be very difficult to produce based on past efforts to develop a night market. Space is not readily available. Ranch 99 market or Burlington Coat Factory parking lots were identified as the most likely locales but it was difficult to Approved Meeting Summary Diversity Commission November 7, 2018 Page 1 coordinate with property owners. Writing stories could be done by either writing it down or by telling a story. Create a book of stories, possibly working with City Arts Commission or the Sister City Commission. The partnership with C3 will help with communication and information to get the project out to the public. It was encouraged to utilize existing infrastructure to avoid getting bogged down in details of a project. By vote the story telling project is the chosen project for the Grand Alliance Project. Partnership meeting to start refining and work on project. 6. Update from the City: Patrick updated on Diversity Commission opening that was advertised this past Monday and applications are due on 11/26 with interviews to be held at 12/5 meeting. Anabel, Brian, and Donnie will review applications and choose up to four applicants for interviews at the 12/5 Diversity Commission meeting. The Senior Center location will be available thru April. ADA parking on the street in downtown Edmonds (which was brought up at the last meeting) does not have a time limit. The City could review and place a 4 hour limit on ADA parking spots. Housing strategy process has stopped and it is being discussed how to reset, reboot, rework, and/or start over. There will be further discussion in the coming weeks. Adrienne reported the budget process is ongoing before City Council. Diversity Commission position will be reviewed as recommended by the Mayor as a'/4 time position. Policy Sub -Group: Diana discussed the presentation before Council several weeks ago. Donnie and Diana met with Mayor and Human Resources director last week to discuss implementation of the recommendations. It was emphasized these are only recommendations from the commission. Patrick reported the City has staff training planned for the first part of December. This is part of the work to create an environment that does not support any incidents that were referenced in the presentation. 7. New Business, Commissioner's Corner: Maria shared Cascadia Museum has a Japanese art exhibit that is very interesting based on Japanese internment. Diana mentioned that the Baha'i event has been canceled on November 10 at Shiva Riddel home. Donnie discussed how the Commission can better connect with Asian community. Donnie is working on a Martin Luther King Day project that will be presented at the ECA on January 21.One of the goals is to create an environment to encourage people that don't normally come to Edmonds to come here. The Diversity Commission is encouraged to participate in the project at ECA on January 21. Sarah expressed excitement about the MLK project and reported that next week there will be two Russian shows and a Persian show at the ECA. Dean asked if there were any updates on Harvey's Lounge issue — Patrick stated the incident is still under investigation. Brian stated the incident regarding the racial slur directed at a Write on the Sound attendee has been posted on Facebook. 8. 2019 Officer Elections: Diana advised that December will be her last meeting. Need to pick a new chair for 2019. Donnie has discussed with Pat and she is willing to be chair. And Anabel is willing to be vice chair. By consensus Pat Valle and Anabel Hovig are chosen as chair and vice chair for 2019. 9. 2018 Sub -Groups: Partnerships/Communications/Grants: 1 It half 2019 grant awards: Maria discussed the 5 grant applications that were received. The two applications that are approved by consensus for $500 funding each are: A Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.'s Beloved Community and Let Justice Roll Down — A Multimedia Musical Journey to Selma and Back. Diana has volunteered the Approved Meeting Summary Diversity Commission November 7, 2018 Page 2 commission to participate at the MLK event with other City commissions on 1/21/19. Lynnwood & Shoreline. Policy: will get back together and review how to proceed since the policy recommendations have been presented to the Council and Mayor. Events: The first film series movies were really good. Recommended to send a card to attendees. Next film will be on 11/17, The Only Good Indian. Sarah is hosting. World Cafe — October 13, 2018 event went well. Approximately 30+ attended. 10. Incident responses via policy protocol: Patrick discussed canned standard response vs customized response. Timing issues create a delayed response due to reporting of incidents. Whole commission needs to be notified along with Council and Mayor of incidents as soon as possible so a customized response can be issued. Adjourn: 8:01 PM — Next regular meeting: December 5, 2018, 6 PM at Edmonds Senior Center. Approved Meeting Summary Diversity Commission November 7, 2018 Page 3