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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-25 DIAC Regular Meeting MinutesTHE CITY OF Anna MINUTES DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING 120 W. 7th St., Anna, TX 75409 Monday, September 25, 2023 @ 6:00 PM 1. Call to Order, Roll Call, and Establishment of Quorum. Elijah Nelms called the meeting to order at 6:09 p.m. Commission Members Present: Dallen Morgan, Valencia Edwards, Elijah Nelms, Yoshanda Sims, Rahul Luthra. Others in Attendance: Assistant to the City Manager Kimberly Winarski and Assistant City Manager Taylor Lough. Commission Members Absent: David Rodriguez and Theresa King -Bell. 2. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Rahul Luthra provided an invocation and led the Pledge. 3. Neighbor's Input. Dr. Glenn Brown commended the commission members for being committed to having discussions about diversity and inclusion. He stated he wanted to encourage the members. Dr. Brown was in the third cohort Neighbor Academy. 4. Reports. There were no reports. 5. Items For Individual Consideration. Discuss Current Projects: Youth in Government Day. Kimberly Winarski shared the tentative date for Youth in Government Day is Friday, November 101" from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and lunch will be provided. Staff developing a flyer and will be working with the school district to have 15-30 students to attend. Valenica Edwards asked how attendees would be determined. She suggested limiting the class to sophomore to seniors. Winarski shared 30 attendees may be a challenge with the event being held on a Friday. There is not currently a GPA requirement. Multicultural Event. Taylor Lough shared that special events for 2024 have been determined. Neighborhood Services will plan and execute special events moving forward. To allow for a quality event as outlined by the Commission, staff recommends holding this event when the Community Library and Civic Plaza open in early 2025. In the meantime, staff has reviewed how to celebrate and recognize cultures in Anna through planned events like AnnaFest which will be held on Saturday, October 7t' from Noon to 6:00 p.m. Baile folklorico and Del Castillo, a Latin rock band based in Austin will headline the event. Elijah Nelms suggested taking lessons learned from AnnaFest into the future multicultural event. He asked Commission members to attend AnnaFest and have an item on the next meeting agenda. Valenica Edwards asked how the city choose the ethnicities to spotlight. Kimberly Winarski reminded the Commission of the survey they drafted for the future. Valencia also asked what events and opportunities are for our neighbors with differing abilities. Lough shared that Neighborhood Services had beeping eggs during the Easter Egg Hunt for our visually impaired neighbors this year. A track system was installed for a neighbor in a wheelchair to participate in archery. This could be a future area of focus for the Commission. b. Consider/Discuss/Act on a recommendation for a statement of purpose for the Local Youth Employment Project. Kimberly Winarski shared the purpose statement for the Local Youth Employment Project is to develop a pipeline of local students interested in and prepared for a local government career in the City of Anna. We want to build up members of the community to come and work for the community over time. Winarski is working with Anna High School staff to develop a summer program, starting small and building each year. Other cities create programs that partner with area businesses to place even more students, but staff suggests starting small. Valencia Edwards shared she was a high school intern with a Mayor's Daley's Internship Program in Chicago. She suggested including small businesses and seeing if there is grant or other funding to pay the students for their work. In the upcoming weeks, the City of Anna will be partnering with Best Buddies International to host four local Anna ISD students for a job shadowing program. Best Buddies programs help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, and develop self -advocacy and communication skills. This is an opportunity for staff to explore what capacity different city departments have for job shadowing and/or a potential intern. Valencia Edwards suggested changing the title to Anna Youth Employment Program. The commission agreed. The Commission would like to review the purpose statement and act next meeting. Yoshanda Sims made a motion to take no action. Elijah Nelms seconded the motion. The motion passed. c. Consider/Discuss/Act on a recommendation for a statement of purpose for the Together We Dine Project. Taylor Lough read the purpose of the Together We Dine Project is to facilitate a community conversation about race to ensure all neighbors are seen, heard, acknowledged, and celebrated. Last meeting Commission members asked staff to work with Project Unity for a recommendation on how to implement the Together We Dine project. Lough reminded the Commission that Project Unity has not yet worked directly with a city, rather most of their work is done through and with churches. Lough shared that the Executive Director recommended the Commission and neighbors attend monthly "Community Dines" in the Metroplex and on Zoom, City staff host an internal dine, the city could host a "pilot dine" with at least 25 people invited from the City Council, School Board, Boards and Commission members, Pastoral Alliance, and Neighbor Academy alumni. These groups could then host their own dines at schools, their houses of worship, etc. with the city supporting and advocating for these efforts. Then there is buy in and attendance for a Community Dine to be held in Anna. Quorum was lost and no action was taken. d. Consider/Act/Discuss Approval of the Minutes from the August 28, 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Commission Meeting. No action was taken. 6. Items for Future Consideration. a. Conversation Starters. b. National Interfaith Day of Prayer No action was taken. 7. Adjourn. Elijah Nelms made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:16 p.m. Valenica Edwards seconded the motion. Rahul Luthra agreed. Elijah Nel ice Chairperson Ki erly Winarski, Staff liaison