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HomeMy WebLinkAboutESJ 2017-10-05 MinutesI. Call to Order 5:17 pm II. Roll Call Joan Hernandez Aaron Dragonov Roy Busch Karl Henry Nora Gierloff Guest: Mikkel Roland Staff: Mia Navarro III. Approval of Agenda Ms. Hernandez made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Ms. Gierloff seconded the motion, the motion passed. IV. Approval of Minutes, September 7, 2017 Ms. Gierloff made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Ms. Hernandez seconded the motion, the motion passed. V. Unfinished Business a. Bylaws Discussion The group reviewed the bylaws, edited per their request at previous meetings. Ms. Gierloff made a motion to approve the bylaws as presented, Mr. Henry seconded the motion. The motion passed. b. Equity Policy Update Mia Navarro gave an update on the Equity Policy. She has been presenting the policy to staff at their department and team meetings. She will compile the feedback she has received, and present it at the November meeting. At the November meeting, the group will discuss a recommendation to present the policy to Council Committee and the full Council. The group will also discuss the implementation and evaluation committee and process at the November meeting. VI. New Business a. Budget and expenditures Mia presented the 2017 budget and expenditures to date. The Commission has $2,314.81 remaining out of the $3,200 budget allocation for Equity and Social Justice, and the full $6,475 remaining budget allocation for the Sister City and Civic Awareness Committee. The group asked if we have any plans to have visitors from Japan, and if we can use some of our Sister City and Civic Awareness Committee funds to provide gifts, since gift giving is very important in Japanese culture. Mia responded that there are no current plans to receive visitors from Japan. The group suggested that there may be an opportunity to work with Teens for Tukwila on a speaker or other project this year using Sister City and Civic Awareness Committee Funds. The group discussed grant ideas for the remaining Equity and Social Justice Commission 2017 funds. Mr. Dragonov said the Tukwila librarians are looking for funds to purchase books that better reflect the student community, particularly Syrians. Mr. Dragonov said he would work with the librarians to submit a grant request. Other possibilities for grants included supporting Kona Kai Coffee employment training program that will go in the Community Center at Tukwila Village, and the Stillwater Snack Pack Program. Mia will reach out to these programs and ask if they are interested in submitting grant applications. The group will review grant applications at the next meeting The group also discussed ideas for the Sister City and Civic Awareness Committee budget. One idea was to work with Teens for Tukwila on a project to bring a speaker to the City and or the school district. Mia will reach out to Nate Robinson and the district to see if there is interest. The group was very interested in funding another trip to Washington DC and possibly Olympia for Teens for Tukwila in 2018. b. Language Line Update Ms. Gierloff spoke about the contract with a company called Language Line that the Department of Community Development and Public Works have recently executed. This allows DCD and PW staff to have live phone interpretation at the front desk to facilitate conversations about building permits, plans, inspections, etc. Other departments are using similar services. The hope is that we will have a city-wide resource for interpretation and translation services. The group asked if the Commission can support this program in anyway, and we thought it might be helpful to promote that fact that the City offers this service. A brochure and or poster would be helpful, in City offices as well as nonprofits in the community. c. Brochure Update Mia shared the draft brochure and asked for feedback. Ms. Roland offered to have a colleague who works in marketing look at it and provide some help. The group liked the idea of including a photo of the Commission members, and adding the list of awards the Commission has received. d. Community Connector Program Update Mia provided an overview of the Community Connector Program, and stated that the City is working on enhancing the program and taking more ownership of it. There will be more updates to come. Mr. Dragonov also spoke about the Tukwila School District family liaison program, which is similar. It might be a good idea for the liaisons and connectors to meet. e. Goals and Objectives for the Commission — Strategic Planning session? The group thought it would be a good idea to plan for a strategic planning session in January, when the full Commission is up and running. VII. Reports of Commissioners and Staff/Announcements Mr. Dragonov reported back about the International Night at Tukwila Elementary. It served as their back to school night, and there were approximately 350 in attendance. A very successful event. VIII. Agenda for Next Meeting • Equity Policy • Grants • Awards IX. Adjournment 6:13 pm