2013-03-25 Sister City Commission MinutesEdmonds Sister City Commission
Meeting Date: March 25, 2013 -Meeting Minutes
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:07pm. There were no guests for citizen input.
Attendance: Pos 1 Michelle Van Tassell
Pos. 2 Ray Olitt Pos. 3 "^S"0*ak^'^^L+^
Pos. 4 Marlene Friend
Pos. 5 Kay Vreeland Pos. 6 Rita Bailey Ikeda
Pos. 7 lyoko Okano
Pos. 8 Kody McConnell Pos. 9 desep,", Fleteher
Pos. 10 Beth Fuhriman
Pos. 11 Jill Van Berkom Pos. 12 P—Au ^.rs^^
Staff Liaison: Carolyn LaFave
Student Rep. Michelle Rockstead
Minutes: February 25, 2013, minutes reviewed by all parties present. No substantive
revisions found. Moved to accept by Beth, seconded by Kody, unanimous consent pending
grammatical and punctuation corrections.
Treasurer's Report: Interest income for 100 Public and 200 Private fund posted from
February. Reimbursements processed to Rita for adult delegation orientation meeting
expenses. Hubbard Family Foundation's grant response outstanding. Kody will investigate
for answer prior to next meeting. Decision was advertised to be made this month.
Chair's Report: Mayor will be reviewing art gift to Hekinan. It is an oil painting by Andy
Eccleshall with framing supplied by Barbara Mercer. Mayor will transport to airport and
Iyoko will safeguard enroute to Japan. The Edmonds Arts Commission will also be bringing
a gift for Hekinan counterparts. It was noted that Iyoko's translation of Edmonds Floretum
Garden Club sister garden club plan was much appreciated.
PR Report: There was an article about Sister City in the Friends of the Library February -
March Newsletter. Facebook Page now has 127 likes. Paul will provide regular delegation
updates from Japan and Hekinan MyEdmondsNews.com. Community delegates are very
excited to leave next week for Hekinan to celebrate 25th anniversary.
Staff Report: Carolyn coordinated the creation of beautiful crystal paperweights with
ESCC new logo for gifts to Hekinan dignitaries. Mayor will take with him.
Official Correspondence: None
Old Business
Mayor's Delegation to Hekinan: Mayor to give speech to Hekinan dignitaries about the
quarter -century Sister City relationship between Hekinan and Edmonds. Michelle and
Yoshi to present official honorary letter of appreciation to counterparts. 27 delegates total
will be representing the Edmonds community. A non -mandatory debrief of the delegation
will be scheduled for April 28 to discuss insights into the Sister City relationship and to
help plan for the Hekinan delegation's arrival in October.
Assistant English Teacher Update: Hekinan Board of Education inquired into the
ongoing AET recruitment process. There has been a personnel change in Hekinan; Mr.
Ishibashi will be new contact. The deadline for the AET application review is April 8, with
candidates for final selection being presented to Hekinan by the middle of May. Five
applications have been received so far. Will review applications at April meeting.
Five -Year Plan Review: Extensive discussion of details of ESCC strategic plan by all
parties. Five -Year Plan document will be updated to incorporate recommendations agreed
to by the commission.
25-Year Anniversary Planning: The Commission engaged in a lively exchange about
potential additions to the event calendar and itinerary for the October adult delegation
from Hekinan. A cultural event is planned preliminarily at the Edmonds Center for the Arts
on October 30, 2013. Open brainstorming of other ideas included hiking trip to Hurricane
Ridge, ice hockey games, and visits to arboretums on Bainbridge Island. Iyoko reminded
the Commission about the 251h anniversary mural proposal. The commission will review
expenditures in 2008 for 201h anniversary and encourages thinking about fund raising for
expenses. The commission will attempt to have a plan underway for the celebration by
May 1, 2013.
New Business
None.
Adjourned: The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.