2013-04-22 Sister City Commission MinutesEdmonds Sister City Commission
Meeting Date: April 22, 2013
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:07 PM
Attendance: Pos. 1 Michelle Van Tassell Pos. 2 Ray Olitt
Pos. 4 Marlene Friend
Pos. 7 lyoko Okano
Pos. 10 Beth Fuhriman
Pos. 5 Kay Vreeland
Pos. 8 Kody McConnell
Pos. 11 Jill Van Berkom
Pos. 3 Yoshitaka Inoue
Pos. 6 Rita Bailey Ikeda
Pos. 9 Joseph Fletcher
Pos. 12 Paul Anderson
Student Representative: Michelle Rockstead
Commissioners Absent: Marlene Friend (unexcused), Yoshitaka Inoue (unexcused)
Staff Liaison: Carolyn LaFave
Guests: Sarah Yamashita, AET applicant
Agenda: The Agenda was approved.
Minutes: The Minutes from March 2012 through February 2013 have been published on the City
website. Minutes from March 2013 were approved as amended.
Treasurer's Report: Kody reported in an earlier email the disappointing letter from the Hubbard Family
Foundation. He also reported that the grant application to the Hazel Miller Foundation is ready to go.
He asked for a firm timeline and amount for the request. August 1'Y was decided upon. Kody asked if
there were any outstanding reimbursement requests. Marlene had an item — however this
reimbursement has not been formally requested and will not be processed. Kody also reported some
contact with the City of Edmonds regarding the display of a banner possibly recognizing the support of
the Hazel Miller Foundation should they choose to support us. Jill and Kody will work on a banner
design mock-up for the 251h Anniversary banner. Kody also reports that the banner signage locations
may have previously been allocated to other organizations.
Correspondence: There was no current correspondence.
Committee Reports:
Chair's Report: As a prelude, Michelle mentioned that the Commission will have a busy year and
would appreciate regular attendance and 'all hands on deck' this year. There was some question as to
the number of absences during the previous months by Kody. Kay moved that Kody's absences be
retroactively shown as Excused by the Commission. The motion passed.
PR Report: Kay reported a huge spike in ESCC PR response during the Mayor's Delegation visit
to Hekinan and provided a handout describing details of the activity. Ray suggested an effort be made
to provide some photos and stories to Pat Ratliff of the Edmonds Beacon.
Staff Report: Carolyn reported that there is an effort underway to provide City of Edmonds
email addresses to each of the Commissioners for use on Commission -related work. This is due to the
small possibility that a public records request may require exposition of the email account.
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Student Representative Report: Michelle Rockstead reported some contact with former host
families via Facebook.
Old Business: Mayor's Delegation to Hekinan: Michelle and Beth met with the Mayor in a debriefing.
Beth was asked to express her experience and posed the questions that we might use at the April 25tn
debriefing:
• "What surprised you about the trip?"
• "What will you remember about the trip?"
• "Did I meet people in Hekinan that I plan to stay in touch with?"
• "What can Edmonds learn from Hekinan?"
Some discussion ensued regarding the best way to encourage and record the contribution of the
delegation to our host efforts. It was decided that there should be 3 posters recording the types of
donations people are willing to offer. Contributions for financial donations may be recorded in a more
private way. For this meeting, Kody made a motion that up to $75 be allowed for refreshments and this
motion was passed.
lyoko reported that the Edmonds' Floretum Garden Club member was able to meet with three
garden clubs in Hekinan. Several other municipal groups were able to meet with their counterparts in
Hekinan. These included meetings with the Board of Education, Chamber of Commerce, Arts
Commission and the hospital as well.
AET Update: 17 applications have been received for the AET position. Michelle asked that a small
committee be created with at least 2 members who are outside of the commission. Members of the
group made several suggestions to Michelle about who to recruit to the interview committee. Rita
outlined the process briefly. The timeline dictates that the candidate be selected by May. Interviews
should begin to take place in the beginning of May. Paul will chair the committee.
25-Year Anniversary Planning: lyoko, Michelle and Rita presented a barrage of ideas subdividing the
activities of the weeklong event. The proposed dates are from Oct 25t" — Nov 15Y or Oct 28t" — Nov 4tn
which would be a 7-day program. Rita will be working on a skeleton program and will send it out to the
group. Michelle asks that we commit to one project that has 'teeth' and that having many
Commissioners on a project makes work easier for all.
Farmer's Market: The market will be starting soon. Jill made some suggestions on an interactive prop
to be used at the market that will draw some attention. A photo -op cutout was suggested and Michelle
asked if Jill, Marlene & Michelle R. can work on this project.
ESCC Brochure: Jill proposed moving forward with the printing and researched printing companies
online. 500-count was the minimum. Jill's motion was seconded by Beth and passed.
Review of the Five -Year Plan: Tabled
New Business: None
Announcements: 17th Annual Seattle Sister Cities Reception May 9, 2013
Japanese ghost stories night — Saturday April 27t" at Otherworlds, Edmonds
Tabled: Ray's request for looking for an instructor for CRI and the Review of the Five-year Plan were
tabled.
Next Meeting: Monday, May 201h
Adjournment:
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