2012-12-17 Sister City Commission MinutesEdmonds Sister City Commission
Meeting Date: December 171h, 2012 — Meeting Minutes
Pos. 1 Michelle Van Tassell
Pos. 4 Marlene Friend
Pos. 7 lyoko Okano
Pos. 10 Beth Fuhriman
Pos. 2 Ray Olitt
Pos. 5 Kay Vreeland
Pos. 8 Kody McConnell
Pos. 11 Jill Van Berkom
Commissioners not in Attendance: Kay Vreeland
Staff: Carolyn LaFave
Pos. 3 Yoshitaka Inoue
Pos. 6 Rita Bailey Ikeda
Pos. 9 Joseph Fletcher
Pos. 12 Paul Anderson
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:16pm. The invited guest from the Edmonds
Beacon could not attend. There were no guests for citizen input. The meeting agenda was not
modified.
Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted and approved by the body though
there was a request that a demonstration be given on how to access the minutes on the Google Drive
site. Failing an easy way for the Commissioners to access the document, the secretary will fall back to
emailing Word documents to the members. Additionally, the login and password were given to the
Commissioners wishing to directly access the account.
Treasurer's report: Kody distributed copies of the current treasurer's report to the members in
attendance showing the current financial state of the Commission. The report will be archived. Kody
also informed the members that he created and submitted a grant application to the Hubbard Family
Foundation on behalf of the Commission. The reported purpose of the grant was to provide
scholarships for students who need financial support.
Correspondence: Carolyn related her correspondence from Mr. Nagasaki regarding the dates set for
the adult delegation. lyoko communicated with Mr. Suzuki from the Hekinan Board of Education. The
information and materials concerning the AET position have been forwarded to Yoshi as chairman.
Old business:
Adult Delegation Update
Michelle reported that the invitation list has been forwarded to Carolyn who has sent it as an email
dispatch already. Carolyn will again make the distribution next week. Information night will be held on
Wednesday, January 9th in the Brackett Room from 7-8pm. The presentation will need to be prepared
with the When, Where and What -to -expect questions. A sub -committee was formed with participants
Rita, Joseph, lyoko, Michelle and Jill. Suggestions were made that the presentation includes a slide show
of some past delegation activity and an information sheet with all the travel details from the
presentation.
Student Representative
Carolyn made changes to the form and sent it to the Commission. Once Kay completes a press release,
Carolyn will update the website hosting the request.
Pamphlet
Jill had provided copies of the pamphlet last meeting but was not present for the review. This week
there was considerable feedback ranging from the title and purpose of the information pamphlet to the
necessity for the inclusion of the Commissioner names. Jill recorded some feedback to be incorporated
however, eventually a sub -committee was formed to review the document in preparation for the
January meeting. The review members are Ray, Joseph and Beth. The final changes are to be submitted
to Jill for layout.
Library Lobby/Senior Center Displays
Beth submitted the application to the library for the timeframe chosen by the group. The chosen
timeframe is October of 2013.
Doll Making Class
Postponed until after January.
Delegation News
AFT RPrriiit
lyoko received a formal request and documentation from Hekinan regarding their effort to replace the
current Assistant English Teacher (AET), Lindsay Donahue. She must be replaced by the end of August,
2013. Recruitment efforts will begin in January. lyoko listed a number of job advertisement channels
that were used in the past and that we plan to utilize in this search. It was noted that due to the
strength of the Japanese Yen, the salary is considerable when converted to US Dollars. It was suggested
that a separate team commit to the interview process and a discussion followed concerning the
application due date.
New Business:
Adult Delegation Gift
Michelle brought some scanned copies of artwork from a local artist who may be selected to create an
original work for the adult delegation gift to Hekinan. Andy Eccleshall's work featured landscapes with
northwest lakes and mountain scenes. He also created some historical 'main street' type painting that
the group liked. In the end, the group decided to request that Mr. Eccelshall create a work showcasing
the scenery that a visitor might encounter on a beautiful day in and around downtown Edmonds. No
further guidance will be given to allow for artistic expression.
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Yoshi and Michelle are continuing to consider options for the retreat taking place in January. A
suggestion of a Saturday morning showcased the difficulty in finding a time that suits everyone in the
group. Yoshi will send a Doodle calendar request in hopes of finding a consensus.
Other
Paul Anderson is to be interviewed and confirmed by the Edmonds City Council on Tuesday, December
18t".
nthar 11
An invitation will be extended to Mr. Ratliff from the Edmonds Beacon once it is decided whether the
January meeting will be held in tandem with the retreat or as a separate meeting.
Tabled:
Next Meeting: January 28th, 7 to 9PM — Edmonds City Hall.
Adjournment: 8:40PM