* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. OKAY, [00:00:01] WE ARE GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER FOR THE CULTURE AND DIVERSITY CITIZENS ACTION COMMISSION. AND CAN I HAVE A ROLL CALL PLEASE? DR. REGAN'S PRESENT MS. HONAKER, MS. NEWBY PRESENT MS. PURVIS, MR. RAMIREZ, MR. RICHARDSON, MR. STEVENS, MS. STEVE, MS. STEPHENS PRESENT THIS SUMMER. OKAY, PERFECT. WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE DECENT, THE THIRD MINUTES. DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, CHANGES TO THE MINUTES AND AMENDMENTS TO THE, THE MEETING MINUTES FROM OUR DECEMBER 3RD MEETING? MADAM CHAIR? YES, I DO HAVE SOME, UM, CHANGES TO THE MINUTES. OKAY, GO AHEAD. FIRST CHANGE ON PAGE TWO, UNDER NUMBER FOUR APPROVAL OF MINUTES. I DO SEE THAT MR. ERIC STEVEN'S NAME IS MISSPELLED. I BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE E R I C. THAT'S CORRECT. AND THE OTHER CHANGE YOU'RE WELCOME, SIR. AND THE OTHER CHANGE IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH WHERE IT SAYS MR. JANE NEWBIE, FASCIA BEING MISSED INSTEAD, MR. THE NEXT CHANGE IS ON PAGE THREE, THE FIRST PARAGRAPH AND THE SECOND TO THE LAST LINE AGAIN, MR. STEVENS. FIRST NAME IS MISSPELLED. IT SHOULD BE E R I C. AND AGAIN, ON THE SAME PAGE, THE LAST PARAGRAPH, THE SECOND SENTENCE AGAIN, MR. STEVEN'S NAME SHOULD BE SPELLED E R I C AND MY FINAL, UM, CORRECTION. IT'S JUST AN OVERALL, UM, QUESTION. AND IN TERMS OF CONSISTENCY, AS AN EXAMPLE ON PAGE THREE, THE LAST PARAGRAPH WHERE IT STARTS BY SAYING CHAIR, YOLANDA STEPHENS, SO FORTH AND SO FORTH, WE SEE WHERE A COMMISSION MEMBER HAD MADE A COMMENT ABOUT A PARTICULAR ISSUE THAT WAS DISCUSSED. BUT IF YOU GO TO THE FOURTH SENTENCE WHERE IT SAYS ONE MEMBER, IS THERE A REASON WHY THE PARTICULAR MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION MAY NOT BE STATED WAS THAT MISSED BY CHANCE? WE CAN GO BACK AND ADD NAMES. I CAN HAVE HER DO THAT. OKAY. AND THAT IS SHOWN SEVERAL TIMES, UM, THROUGHOUT THESE MINUTES WHERE YOU WILL SEE EITHER ONE MEMBER OR THREE MEMBERS. SO JUST FOR CONSISTENCY AND FOR THE RECORD, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU, MS. NEWBIE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER CHANGES TO THE MINUTES? NO ADDITIONAL, NO CORRECTIONS. OKAY. DO WE, UM, COUGH OR APPROVE OF THE MINUTES AS REFLECTED WITH THE AMENDMENTS THAT MS. NEWBY BROUGHT FORTH? MS. NEWBIE? YES. YEAH. MR. RAMIREZ, MR. RICHARDSON, MR. STEVENS. MS. STEVENS. YES. [00:05:01] MS. SOMEONE? YES. DR. AKINS. YES. MISS HONAKER. SORRY. OKAY. I WASN'T IN FAVOR THAT THE MINUTES WILL BE, ARE APPROVED. THE CHANGES AS BROUGHT FORTH. YOU WANT TO MOVE ON TO OLD BUSINESS. UH, WE HAVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AS OUR FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS TONIGHT UNDER OLD BUSINESS. AND WE HAVE A FEW VISITORS WITH US TONIGHT. UM, WE HAVE MR. COLTON ELEY FROM THE MIAMI VALLEY, REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. WE HAVE TIME. AND IS SARAH AT ONE AS WELL? YEAH, I'M HERE. OKAY. AND SIERRA, UM, FROM THIS, FROM THE CITY, SHE'S OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS. UM, AND THEY'VE BEEN ASKED TO JOIN TONIGHT TO KIND OF GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, INFORMATION IN TERMS OF A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. NOW, UM, MR. SCHAKOWSKY BROUGHT UP THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER LAST IN OUR LAST MEETING THAT MR. ELEY IS WORKS FOR THE MIAMI VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. UM, AS A MR. AILEY, WHAT IS YOUR, WHAT IS YOUR ACTUAL TITLE? I DON'T WANT TO BOTCH IT. RE SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME. UH, I AM THE REGIONAL EQUITY INITIATIVE MANAGER. OKAY. UM, AND SO HE JOINED THE MIAMI VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. IN AUGUST. OKAY. UM, AND SO HE IS WORKING WITH THE NV RPC ON EQUITY INITIATIVES. AND SO WE HAVE HIM TONIGHT TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT HE DOES, UM, AND FOR YOU ALL TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE FOR HIM, WE THOUGHT THAT HE MAY BE A GOOD SOURCE OF INFORMATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND LOOKING AT WHAT WE MAY NEED TO UTILIZE FOR THAT AND BUILDING AN RFQ FOR THAT AS WELL. SO WE'LL START WITH MR. ELEY. UM, AND THEN WE HAVE TOM ON WITH US ALSO. AND TOM, YOU TELL ME THE NAME OF YOUR AGENCY, THE IMPACT, THE IMPACT GROUP AND SARAH, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST. SO WE'LL START WITH MR. ELEY. OKAY. SO YOLANDA, DO YOU HAVE THE SLIDES THAT I SHARED EARLIER TODAY OR? I DO NOT HAVE SLIDES. OKAY. LET'S SEE. DID YOU SEND ME SLIDES? WELL, I SENT THEM TO BRIAN. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO SHARE MY SCREEN OR HOW YOU'D LIKE TO, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. YOU CAN SHARE YOUR SCREEN, YOU HAVE RIGHTS TO DO THAT. I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING FOR YOU TO DO THAT. UM, I DON'T USE THIS PARTICULAR PLATFORM THAT OFTEN HAVE WHAT'S THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO SHARE MY STORY. SO IF YOU SEE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, YOU SHOULD SEE LITTLE DOTS, SOMEWHAT I'M ON MY IPAD. SO CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE ON THE LAPTOP? ARE YOU ON THE LAPTOP, MR. ELEY? NO, I'M ON A DESKTOP. A DESKTOP. OKAY. UH, THREE DOTS. WHERE, WHEN YOU HOVER OVER IT, IT SAYS MORE ACTIONS. I THINK IT'S IN THERE SOMEWHERE. UM, ACTUALLY IF YOU GO TO THE SQUARE WITH THE ARROW POINTING UP RIGHT NEXT TO THE RED LEAVE BUTTON, THAT'S THE SHARE SCREEN BUTTON. OKAY. I SEE. I SEE WHICH ONE DO I PUSH ON AND PUSH ON THE SQUARE RIGHT NEXT TO THE LEAVE BUTTON WITH THE UP ARROW IN IT. THAT'S UPLOAD YOUR SCREEN ICON. OKAY. SCREEN NUMBER ONE. I THINK THAT WOULD BE, DO YOU SEE MY SCREEN NOW? OKAY. I'M JUST OPENING UP THE SLIDES NOW. UH, DO YOU SEE THE FIRST SLIDE? YES. PERFECT. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO SAY GOOD EVENING TO EVERYONE. AND, UH, BRIAN CONTACTED ME ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO. UM, AND THEY SAID THAT IT'D BE FIVE FOR ME TO MAYBE OFFER REMARKS AND ABOUT 20 MINUTES. SO HOPEFULLY THAT WON'T BE A DISTRACTION, UH, YOLANDA, IF I NEED TO SHORTEN MY REMARKS, JUST LET ME KNOW. [00:10:01] OKAY. OKAY. WE WANT TO LEAVE SOME TIME TO, FOR, UM, THE FOUR QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS THEY MAY HAVE FOR YOU. OKAY. OKAY, GOOD. UH, BUT YEAH, IT WAS, UH, BRIAN, UH, TO KOSKI WHO INVITED ME TO, UH, OFFER REMARKS, UH, AS YOLANDA ALREADY INDICATED, I WORKED FOR THE MIAMI VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. UH, WE'RE ONE OF THE 400 METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS IN THE NATION, WHICH ENCOURAGE REGIONAL COOPERATION AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING. AND ALSO WE'RE ONE OF THE 500, UH, REGIONAL COUNCILS, UH, THAT WORKED TO FACILITATE REGIONAL COOPERATION AS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, ADVANCED THEIR COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES. UH, LAST JANUARY, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION BECAME THE HOME FOR A REGIONAL EQUITY INITIATIVE, AND THIS IS A BOLD COMMITMENT, UH, TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE. UH, IT'S A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY INVOLVING MULTIPLE PARTNERS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT REPRESENTS THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF THE PLANNING PROFESSION AS WELL AS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. AND I WAS ASKED TO OFFER A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON NEEDS ASSESSMENT. UH, THIS EVENING, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE JUST TO TAKE ROUGHLY ABOUT 18 OR SO MINUTES TO OFFER SOME COMMENTARY ON THE TOPIC FOR THE BENEFIT OF YOUR GROUP, AS WELL AS TO OFFER JUST A HIGHER LEVEL OVERVIEW ON THE PROCESS. UH, IF THAT'S GOING TO BE USEFUL FOR YOU. SO, AS I INDICATED EARLIER IN AUGUST, THE MAMI VALLEY, REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, HIRED ME TO SERVE AS THEIR REGIONAL EQUITY INITIATIVE MANAGER. AND AS MANAGER, MY DUTIES ARE TO LEAD DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EQUITY INITIATIVES THROUGHOUT THE MIAMI VALLEY IN COLLABORATION WITH REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS. UH, THEY'RE ROUGHLY ABOUT 85, UH, MEMBER PARTNERS WITHIN THE MIAMI VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION THAT SOVOS SERVE ON THE BOARD. AND WITH OTHER STRATEGIC PARTNERS, I ACCEPTED THIS POSITION BECAUSE IT GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE WORKING AND HELPING INSTITUTIONS TO EXPAND THEIR SOCIALIZATION BOUNDARIES. UH, WHEN I WORKED FOR THE U S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, I ACTUALLY CREATED A MANAGED A PORTFOLIO ON THE TOPIC OF EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT. AND I MANAGED THAT FOR ABOUT 13 YEARS. SO IF YOU ACTUALLY TYPE THE TERM EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT, A WEB BROWSER, UH, THE FIRST REFERENCE THAT WILL, UH, APPEAR IS ACTUALLY, UH, THE LANDING PAGE ON THE TOPIC FOR EPA IS OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. UH, ALSO, UH, PRIOR TO RESIGNING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, I ACTUALLY WROTE A PLANNING ADVISORY SERVICE MEMO THAT WAS REQUESTED BY THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF HIS 40,000 MEMBERS. AND THAT MEMO HELPED TO RE-ENERGIZE APA FOCUS ON EQUITY AND PLANNING. SO AGAIN, A LOT OF MY WORK WITHIN THE PAST 10 YEARS HAS FOCUSED ON HELPING INSTITUTIONS TO EXPAND THEIR SOCIALIZATION BOUNDARIES, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE INSTITUTIONS THAT DON'T HAVE A TRACK RECORD OR A HISTORY OF REALLY WORKING ON THE ISSUE OF EQUITY, WHICH IS A VERY IMPORTANT PUBLIC PRIORITY. I JUST WANT TO START BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE PRACTICE OF PLANNING IS NOT BASED ON A STATIC MODEL, UH, IRREGULARLY ADAPTS TO NEW TRENDS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND CHALLENGES. IN FACT, WE RISK STIFLING, BOTH THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC SERVANTS AND THE SERVICE DELIVERY OF PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS. WHEN WE SUBSCRIBE TO NARROW SOCIALIZATION, BOUNDARIES NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS NOT A NEW TOOL. HOWEVER, IT REPRESENTS ONE OF THE TOOLS THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS NEED TO EMBRACE, UH, GIVING THE INCREASING INTEREST IN ADVANCING EQUITY WITHIN COMMUNITIES. AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY I HAVE THIS SLIDE REPRESENTED, UH, IN 2008, POLICY LANGUAGE IS ONE OF THE NATION'S LEADING PROPONENTS FOR EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT, HAD THEIR EQUITY SUMMIT, AND IT EXCEEDED 4,000 ATTENDEES. AND I LIKE NUMBERS LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT SENDS A VERY CLEAR MESSAGE ABOUT PENT UP DEMAND. AND SO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE THE OPTION OF BECOMING MORE PROFICIENT AND THE PRACTICE OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT OR CITIZENS WILL TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO CONDUCT THESE TYPES OF ASSESSMENTS THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY EXPECT MORE OUT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. UH, ONE OF THE LEADERS WHO I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR WHO IS OUTPERFORMING, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO NEEDS, ASSESSMENT IS ACTUALLY CHANCY MARCH REL IN 1992, CHANCY WAS A STUDENT AT UCLA AROUND THE TIME OF THE LA CIVIL UNREST. AND AS SHE SAW THIS UNFOLD, UH, IN LOS ANGELES, CHANCY REALIZED AT THE THAI POPULATION IN LOS ANGELES WAS LESS VISIBLE AS AN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY. AND AS A COMMUNITY, SHE SAW THAT THEY HAD NEEDS THAT WEREN'T BEING ADDRESSED. AND SHE UNDERSTOOD THAT, YOU KNOW, THE TYPE OF, UH, UNREST THAT WAS HAPPENING COULD JUST AS EASILY HAPPEN WITHIN THE THAI COMMUNITY IF THEY WERE RENDERED INVISIBLE. SO AS A GRADUATE STUDENT, SHE PREPARED A LANDMARK COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR THE THAI COMMUNITY. [00:15:01] AND OVER THE SPAN OF 20 YEARS, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS ASSESSMENT HAVE ACTUALLY CASCADED AND TO MANY OUTCOMES, INCLUDING THE CREATION OF THAI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CENTER AND THE DESIGNATION OF THAI TOWN IN LOS ANGELES AS A CULTURAL DISTRICT. SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR MODEL, I JUST WANT TO STATE THAT THERE IS A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE. I'VE KNOWN CHANCEY SINCE 2015. SHE REGULARLY LECTURES, UH, AROUND THE COUNTRY ABOUT HER ORGANIZATION AND THE PROJECTS THAT THEY DO, THE IMPACT THAT THEY'RE MAKING. AND ALTHOUGH SHE'S BUILT HER CAREER AROUND THE ACT OF HAVING CONDUCTED A LANDMARK NEEDS ASSESSMENT, I ASKED HER WHETHER OR NOT WHEN SHE'S FREQUENTLY DOING THESE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, WHETHER OR NOT SHE'S OFFERED REMARKS ABOUT THE PROCESS. AND SURPRISINGLY, SHE SAID, NO, UH, MOST OF HER AUDIENCES WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RESULTS OF HER ORGANIZATION RATHER THAN THE PROCESS THAT'S FACILITATED THEM. AND IN MY OPINION, THAT'S UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE GREAT COMMUNITY OUTCOMES ARE NOT THE RESULT OF SERENDIPITY. ANOTHER MODEL THAT I JUST WANT TO REFERENCE IS ACTUALLY THE CARE MODEL, UH, CARE ACTUALLY REFERS TO COMMUNITY ACTION FOR RENEWED ENVIRONMENT. UH, THIS MODEL WAS CREATED IN 2005, UH, BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. IT WAS BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT CITIZENS TRULY ARE THE EXPERTS WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES. AND WHEN YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY, CITIZENS WILL ACTUALLY TELL YOU WHAT THE SOLUTIONS ARE. AND ALSO CITIZENS ARE MORE LIKELY TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF SOLUTIONS IF THEY FEEL THAT THEY'VE BEEN HEARD. AND SO THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM WAS CREATED AS A GRANT INITIATIVE THAT OFFERED LEVEL ONE GRANTS FOR ISSUE IDENTIFICATION, LEVEL TWO GRANTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION. THE PROGRAM WAS VERY EFFECTIVE FOR HELPING COMMUNITIES THAT MAY HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONCERNS TO CONDUCT VISIONING EXERCISES, TO IDENTIFY NEEDS THAT NEEDED TO BE TARGETED, TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION WITH MULTI-LEVEL PARTNERS, UH, TO REDUCE POLLUTION IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND TO ACHIEVE MEASURABLE RESULTS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE FUNDING AND THE CARE PROGRAM WAS ZEROED OUT IN 2011. HOWEVER MANY PROGRAM DOCUMENTS STILL EXIST. THEY'RE ACCESSIBLE ONLINE, INCLUDING THE ONE THAT'S FEATURED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SLIDE. SO I'M TRYING TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF TOOLS THAT CAN ALSO HELP YOU AS YOU HAVE THIS EXPLORATION ON THE TOPIC OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT. ANOTHER MODEL THAT I WANT TO INTRODUCE BRIEFLY IS ACTUALLY THE COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING MODEL. THIS ONE IS STILL IN USE. UH, EPA LEARNED VERY EARLY THAT MANY COMMUNITIES THAT MAY HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONCERNS ARE, ARE DEALING WITH CHALLENGES THAT ARE DEEPLY ROOTED, AND THEY ARE DIFFICULT TO RESOLVE WITHOUT EFFORT AS WELL AS THE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS. SO THE FRAMEWORK FOR MODEL WAS ACTUALLY BASED ON SEVEN ELEMENTS BASED ON THE ONES THAT ARE PROJECTED, ONE OF WHICH IS ACTUALLY ISSUE IDENTIFICATION. AND I REALIZED THAT THE ENVIRONMENT WASN'T NECESSARILY CALLED OUT IN TERMS OF THE FOCAL AREAS OF THE CITIZEN ACTION COMMISSION. HOWEVER, THE MODEL, UH, COULD BE TRANSFERABLE FOR, UH, YOUR BENEFIT. ALSO A COUPLE OF THE PROJECTS, UH, THAT HAD VERY MODEST BEGINNINGS THAT ARE USING THESE TWO PARTICULAR APPROACHES ARE ACTUALLY CELEBRATE IT NOW AS NATIONAL EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT. UH, FOR EXAMPLE, HAROLD MITCHELL, WHO WAS REFERENCED ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN, UH, IS THE FOCUS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING MODEL THAT I JUST INTRODUCED AS A COMMUNITY BUILDER. HE HAS ACTUALLY LEVERAGED $300 MILLION AND COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT IN SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, CAROLINA MARTINEZ IS FEATURED ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE. AND SHE'S A LAND USE POLICY MANAGER FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COALITION, WHICH IS BASED IN CALIFORNIA, UH, MUCH OF HER WORK, UH, THAT FALLS UNDER HER PORTFOLIO ACTUALLY STARTED AS A COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY FOR RESIDENTS IN NATIONAL CITY. SO THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COALITION, JUST FOR YOUR BENEFIT IS ONE OF THE COMMUNITY NONPROFITS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE CARE PROGRAM WHEN IT WAS ACTIVE, TRYING TO ADVANCE MY SLIDES. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE GO. UH, I JUST WANTED TO STATE THAT WHEN BRIAN, UH, CONTACTED ME A FEW WEEKS AGO, I WAS TRANSPARENT WITH HIM. UM, I SAID THAT ACTUALLY PERSONALLY, I'VE NEVER CONDUCTED A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. UH, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I LACK AN APPRECIATION OF THE APPROACH. UH, MY UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE IS IN SOCIAL WORK AND I'VE WORKED ON THE TOPIC OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY OVER THE SPAN OF ROUGHLY ABOUT 20 YEARS. AND SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS I STRIVE TO BE A GOOD LISTENER WHEN I ENGAGE THE PUBLIC, I RESIST THE URGE TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS, I BELIEVE, AND GIVING DEFERENCE TO LOCAL KNOWLEDGE. I REALIZED THAT UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS HAVE LEGITIMATE CONCERNS AND WE SHOULDN'T TRIVIALIZE THEM. AND FINALLY, I BELIEVE, UH, THAT THE PROCESS [00:20:01] IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE OUTCOME. AND SO THESE ARE VALUES THAT ARE REALLY AT THE CORE OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT. OKAY. RIGHT NOW, WHAT I WANT TO DO IS I WANT TO TRANSITION AND JUST OFFER A QUICK OVERVIEW ON THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. UH, THE SLIDES MAY BE STUCK. I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT I'M GOING TO CONTINUE ANYWAY. UH, THE FIRST POINT THAT I WANT TO MAKE IS THERE ARE MANY MODELS, UH, CONCERNING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AS AN APPROACH. AND MY ADVICE TO YOU AS A GROUP IS TO NOT GET OVERWHELMED, UH, BY THE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT MODELS. UH, IF YOU'RE GOING TO HIRE A CONTRACTORS, A GROUP IS REALLY THEIR JOB TO FIGURE OUT THE METHODOLOGY. BUT AS A COMMISSION JOB IS TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT UNTAPPED AUDIENCES, UH, PARTICULARLY WITHIN TROOPER HEIGHTS, UH, ARE REACHED AND THAT YOU FIND A WAY TO PROPERLY ENGAGE THEM DURING THE PROCESS WHEN YOU'RE CONDUCTING YOUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT. THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO POINTS THAT I WANT TO MAKE, UH, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THIS GROUP. FIRST, THE GOAL OF CONDUCTING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS REALLY DOCUMENTATION AND A KOREAN RECORD. UH, I USED TO VIEW WRITING AS A CHORE, UH, UNTIL IT BECAME APPARENT THAT PUBLIC OFFICIALS WILL CHALLENGE VERBAL STATEMENTS, BUT THEY DON'T NECESSARILY CHALLENGE DOCUMENTATION AND THEY DON'T CHALLENGE PAPER TRAILS. AND SO AGAIN, NEEDS ASSESSMENT. THE REASON WHY IT'S VERY IMPORTANT IS THE FACT THAT YOU'RE DOCUMENTING ISSUES THAT NORMALLY HAD BEEN RENDERED INVISIBLE, OR MAYBE WITHIN THE SHADOWS. SECOND, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, UH, ASSESSMENTS ARE REALLY A COLLABORATIVE EXERCISE. THERE IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND AS A RESULT, THEY'RE A GREAT WAY TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND TO FORM PARTNERSHIPS. AS I SAID EARLIER, THERE ARE MANY MODELS. HOWEVER, THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THIS PRESENTATION, I TRIED TO REALLY SUMMARIZE THEM IN BASICALLY FIVE STEPS. AND THOSE STEPS ARE TO DEFINE THE SCOPE, TO GATHER THE DATA, TO ORGANIZE THE KEY FINDINGS, TO SET THE PRIORITIES AND TO COMMUNICATE THE NEXT STEP. SO WHEN IT COMES TO DEFINING THE SCOPE, UH, THIS REALLY STARTS WITH BASICALLY FRAMING THE PROBLEM. AND OTHER WORDS, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS YOU WANT TO, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, BASICALLY FRAME AND ARTICULATE, WHAT'S THE COMMUNITY CONCERN THAT NEEDS TO BE REMEDIED. AND THIS IS REALLY WHAT THE HIGH-LEVEL OBJECTIVE OF DEFINING THE SCOPE IS. SO DURING THIS STAGE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ASK A SET OF VERY INTROSPECTIVE QUESTIONS AND THE SENSE OF WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? WHY DOES IT EXIST? WHO OR WHAT IS CAUSING IT? WHO DOES IT AFFECT OR WHAT BEHAVIORS MAY BE A CONCERN. THERE ARE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS THAT ARE EQUALLY USEFUL, SUCH AS WHEN DID IT FIRST OCCUR OR WHAT HAS BEEN THE HISTORY, WHAT IS CURRENTLY BEING DONE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM? ARE THERE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM AND CAN THE PROBLEM BE RESOLVED IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME? SO THROUGH THIS EXERCISE, BASICALLY WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO IS TO MOVE BEYOND A SUPERFICIAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCERN. AND SO THIS HELPS WITH FRAMING THE PROBLEM. CLEARLY, SECONDLY, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS YOU WANT TO IDENTIFY THE QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED. SO THE FIRST STEP IS BASICALLY TO ASK SOME AND WORLDLY FACING QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO QUALIFY THE NEED. NOW, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS BASICALLY ASK THE OUTWARDLY FACING QUESTIONS THAT WOULD HELP YOU TO ASSESS THE NEED. THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE MORE PERTINENT TOWARDS SERVING THE COMMUNITY. SO SPECIFICALLY, WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU NEED TO ASK THE PUBLIC? WHAT QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ANSWERED TO DEVELOP INTERVENTIONS THAT MAY HELP THE TARGETED POPULATION? WHAT QUESTIONS ARE APPROPRIATE FOR SURVEYING THE COMMUNITY? ARE THERE LOCAL NUANCES THAT YOU NEED TO CLARIFY? DO YOU REQUIRE METRICS? AND IF SO, WHAT QUANTITATIVE QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ASKED. YOU ALSO WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO IDENTIFY THE COMMUNITY. THAT'S GOING TO BE THE FOCUS OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. IS IT DEFINED BY GEOGRAPHY? IS IT DEFINED BY A SPECIFIC POPULATION THAT'S SERVED? IS IT DEFINED BY OCCUPATION OR AFFINITY GROUP? SO YOU HAVE TO DEFINE YOUR COMMUNITY AS WELL. A FOURTH IS IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY WHO THE BENEFIT IS. SHARES ARE, WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED IT SPEED, UH, OR STANDING NEED, UH, OF THE SERVICE OR STAND, UH, BASICALLY, AND HAVING THEIR NEEDS MET. AND SO AS USERS, THIS GROUP MAY HAVE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF GAPS AND NEEDS. THEY MAY ACTUALLY HELP YOU TO IMPROVE HOW YOU FRAMED THE PROBLEM. IF YOU IDENTIFY THEM EARLY. AND ALSO THEIR CHARACTERIZATIONS ABOUT VALUE MAY ACTUALLY BE MORE MEANINGFUL COMPARED TO PERSONS WHO MAY BE EMOTIONALLY DETACHED FROM THE TOPIC AND FIFTH UNDER DEFINING THE SCOPE. [00:25:01] WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS YOU WANT TO IDENTIFY OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, SIMPLY ANYONE WHO HAS AN INTEREST WHO HAS AN INVESTMENT, UH, WHO MAY BE ABLE TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN TERMS OF THE WORK, UH, THE SECOND STEP, AND I'M GOING TO MOVE ALONG RATHER SWIFTLY IS YOU NEED TO GATHER THE DATA. SO THE FIRST, UH, TYPE OF DATA THAT MANY OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH IS ACTUALLY STATISTICS AND DEMOGRAPHICS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE DATA THAT NORMALLY IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE U S CENSUS OR THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, UH, IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO WADE THROUGH A LOT OF CENSUS DATA, MOST PUBLIC AGENCIES ALREADY DO THAT BECAUSE THEY ANALYZE IT FOR THEIR LOCAL PLANS, FOR THEIR ANGER REPORTS, FOR THEIR GENERAL PROFILES, FOR STRATEGIC POPULATIONS, THAT WORK IS ALREADY BEING DONE BY MANY PUBLIC AGENCIES. THE SECOND TYPE OF DATA THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO CONSIDER IS COMMUNITY LEVEL INDICATORS. THESE ARE THE FACTS AND FIGURES, UH, THAT CAN BE POOLED, UH, FROM A COMMUNITY TO GIVE US ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS INTO WHAT A COMMUNITY'S PROBLEMS MAY BE, UH, IN CONTRAST TO NATIONAL DATA SETS THAT ARE GREAT FOR ANSWERING MANY CONVENTIONAL QUESTIONS AT A HIGHER SCALE SCALE, UH, COMMUNITY, YEAH, LEVEL INDICATORS OFTEN REQUIRE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIGGING BECAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING AT DATA THAT'S AT A MORE REFINED SCALE. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OFTEN WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING, WHEN YOU'RE USING DATA SETS LIKE A US CENSUS AND THE FA IN THE SENSE THAT THEY TEND TO AGGREGATE UP. AND WHEN YOU START ASKING QUESTIONS AT A LOWER SCALE, SOMETIMES IT'S MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND SOME OF THE QUANTITATIVE DATA THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH SUB-POPULATIONS SUCH AS LIKE MINORITY GROUPS, UH, THE THIRD TYPE OF DATA, UH, THAT YOU NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF IS COMMUNITY MEMBER EXPERIENCES. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE BASICALLY YOU'RE ENGAGING SUBJECTS DIRECTLY. YOU'RE CAPTURING THEIR ANECDOTES. AND OFTEN THESE ANECDOTES HELP WITH, UH, CAPTURING INFORMATION THAT REALLY WOULDN'T BE AVAILABLE IN SOME OF THE HIGHER LEVEL DATA SOURCES BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT YOU'RE OFTEN GETTING QUALITATIVE TYPE, UH, FEEDBACK THAT HELPS YOU TO UNDERSTAND BASICALLY THE QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE GATHERING. UH, THE THIRD STEP, UH, IS TO ORGANIZE THE KEY FINDINGS. I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME HERE. THIS IS REALLY WHERE YOU DO THE SYNTHESIS AND YOU TRACK THE TIME TO MAKE SENSE OF THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN COLLECTED. UH, WHEN I DISCUSSED THE BASICS EARLIER, THE POINT THAT I MADE IS THE FACT THAT, UH, IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO DEVELOP DOCUMENTATION AND TO DEVELOP RECORDS. UH, AS I INDICATED EARLIER, THE ACT OF WRITING CAN BE A CHORE, BUT WHAT I ENCOURAGE WITH YOU FOR THIS STEP IS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF IT. THIS IS REALLY YOUR NARRATIVE. UH, NEVER ASSUME THAT THERE IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE MOST CITIZENS AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS STILL WORK WITHIN THEIR SILOS. THEY TEND TO HAVE A LIMITED BANDWIDTH. AND SO IN THE END, YOU REALLY ARE THE TRUE EXPERT ON YOUR COMMUNITY. SO NEVER ASSUME THAT JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS OBVIOUS TO YOU, THAT IT MAY BE OBVIOUS TO SOMEONE ELSE. AND SO WHEN YOU'RE ORGANIZING YOUR KEY FINDINGS, I LIKE TO SAY THAT AUTHORSHIP IS IMPORTANT. UH, THE FOUR STEP, IT BASICALLY IS TO SET YOUR KEY PRIORITIES. WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BASICALLY FRAMING CAREFULLY, WHAT THE PROBLEMS ARE, BUT WHEN YOU'RE SETTING KEY PRIORITIES, WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO FOCUS MORE SO, MORE SO ON IS REALLY EXPLAINING WHAT YOUR VISION IS. THERE'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN ASSESSMENT AND COMMUNITY PLANNING. AND IN SOME INSTANCES, THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS MAY ACTUALLY SERVE AS A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING EXERCISES. SO SETTING PRIORITIES IS ONE OF THOSE POINTS OF INTERSECTION. WHEN YOU SET PRIORITIES, IT'S IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT QUESTIONS. LIKE I SAID ABOUT VISIONING ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO SUPPORT DIVISION, WHAT ARE THE GAPS? WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES? UH, AND SO ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO START THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES MAY BE IS BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THE PROBLEM IS LOCALIZED, THE WAY THAT PROBLEM IS SOLVED MAY ACTUALLY EXTEND BEYOND YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY. FOR EXAMPLE, A FOUNDATION, AND MAY TAKE AN INTEREST IN YOUR WORK, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THROUGH SOME OF THEIR PROGRAMS MAY TAKE AN INTEREST IN YOUR WORK MEDIA, UH, MAY HAVE AN INTEREST IN DOING A NEWS STORY. AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE TO ACTUALLY DO AN ASSESSMENT THAT FOCUSES ON SOME RATHER NUANCED ISSUES, UH, THAT ACTUALLY IDENTIFIES FINDINGS THAT NORMALLY WOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED WOULD ACTUALLY BE OF INTEREST TO THEM. SO THE TECHNIQUE OF APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY IS IMPORTANT WHEN YOU START SETTING YOUR PRIORITIES. SO RATHER THAN RESTATING THE GAP IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO CONSIDER WAYS TO FRAME IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY. UH, THE ONLY REASON WHY I'M TAKING TIME TO PUSH THIS ISSUE IS BECAUSE AS A SOCIOLOGIST, I APPRECIATE THE IMPORTANCE OF ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT GAPS AND PROBLEMS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT MOST DECISION-MAKERS WANT TO FOCUS ON [00:30:01] SOLUTIONS. AND SO THE FIFTH STEP BASICALLY IS TO TAKE TIME TO COMMUNICATE YOUR FINDINGS. UM, THE CONVERSATION OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT, DOESN'T END WITH THE REPORT. IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU TAKE THE TIME TO SHARE YOUR FINDINGS WITH YOUR PARTNERS, WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT YOU IDENTIFIED WITH THE BENEFICIARIES, AND ALSO THE WHOLE PROCESS OF SHARING YOUR FINDINGS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT MAY OPEN THE DOOR FOR OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. SO WE WANT TO STRESS THAT YOU SHOULD THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT THAT PROCESS, AND ALSO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT HOW TO DEVELOP A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AS YOU WORK, UH, ON YOUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT. AND AS YOU BRING IT TO CLOSURE. SO I'M AT 20 MINUTES RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT I WANT TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT I WRAP UP AND BE RESPECTFUL OF YOUR TIME. AND I KNOW THAT YOU WANT TO ASK ME A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. LET ME JUST CONCLUDE BY SIMPLY INDICATING, UH, THAT I KNOW MANY OF YOU ARE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF RESOURCES THE MIAMI VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION CAN PROVIDE. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT I NEED TO STRESS IS THE FACT THAT THE MINE VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION DOES NOT HAVE FUNDING FOR NEEDS ASSESSMENT, BUT WHAT WE ARE IN THE POSITION TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH, IF YOU'RE A COMMISSION OR AT THE CITY OF HARIBO HEIGHTS IS SEEKING A CONSULTANT, WE CAN ASSIST YOU WITH SCOPING. UH, WE ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY AS A RESEARCH ORGANIZATION, GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE OFTEN MINE DATA FROM THE U S CENSUS OR FROM THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY TO PERHAPS ASSIST WITH LIMITED RESEARCH OR EVEN SPATIAL ANALYSIS. AND ALSO WE OFTEN PLAY A ROLE IN TERMS OF HELPING SOME OF OUR MEMBER PARTNERS WITH GETTING STARTED OR TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY CAN GET AN EFFORT OFF THE GROUND. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I JUST WANT TO THROW OUT TO ILLUSTRATE ILLUSTRATIVELY, CONVEY WHAT WE CAN DO AS A REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. I'LL STOP THERE. THAT'S A RATHER SHORT LIST, BUT I WANT TO USE A SHORT LIST FOR BEGINNERS, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH THE IMPRESSION OF OVER-DELIVERING AND THEN NOT BEING ABLE TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON THAT. AND SO IF THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT, PROBABLY WHAT'S GOING TO BE BEST IS FOR YOU TO ASK WHAT YOUR QUESTION IS, AND THEN I CAN FOLLOW UP IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT ABLE TO RESPOND TO DIRECTLY. AND SO I APOLOGIZE THAT THESE, THIS SLIDE SHOW FROZE UP ON YOU, BUT THAT'S THE LAST COMMENT THAT I WANTED TO MAKE. AND I WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, UH, MAYBE ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS GIVEN THE FACT THAT I'M THINKING YOU MAY HAVE ANOTHER PERSON WHO'S GOING TO OFFER IT REMARKS AS WELL. HELLO, IS ANYONE HAVE ANY, IF I MIGHT, I JUST WANTED TO SEE THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION. WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO EMAIL THAT OUT TO, UM, THE OTHER MEMBERS OR THE REST OF THE MEMBERS WHEN THAT'S AVAILABLE? YES. I CAN EMAIL IT TO YOLANDA AND YOLANDA. IF YOU DON'T MIND SHARING IT WITH THE GROUP, I'D BE HAPPY TO MY APOLOGIES THAT THE SCREEN FROZE AND YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO SEE THE REST OF THE SLIDES, BUT I HOPE THAT MY CHARACTERIZATIONS VERBALLY WERE HELPFUL AND DEMYSTIFYING THIS PROCESS. OKAY. UM, MR. , HE SAID HE JUST EMAILED THE PRESENTATION TO EVERYONE, SO YOU SHOULD HAVE IT. OKAY. I, I DO HAVE A QUESTION. I MISSED IT. YOU MEAN, IN TERMS OF, YOU SAID YOU, YOU ALL COULD PROVIDE HELP WITH SCOPING THE PROJECT. UM, WHAT LEVEL OF ASSISTANCE COULD YOU PROVIDE WITH THAT HELPING WITH THE REVIEW PROCESS, OR MAYBE HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS, JUST TO GET A BETTER SENSE IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU WOULD IDENTIFY AS BEING A PROBLEM. LIKE I SAID EARLIER IN THE PROCESS OF EVEN WITH THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, YOU NEED TO START ASKING SOME VERY CRITICAL QUESTIONS AND DRILLING DOWN DEEPER. SO YOU MOVE BEYOND A SUPERFICIAL LEVEL. AND THAT ACTUALLY WOULD BE HELPFUL EVEN WITH THE PROCESSES OF JUST DEVELOPING A SCOPE OF WORK. SO, SO THAT'S, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT I MEAN IS IT'S GOING TO BE A PROCESS OF BASICALLY BEING AVAILABLE TO YOU AND TRYING TO ASK SOME PROBING QUESTIONS, BUT IT MAY INVOLVE A LITTLE BIT OF WRITING AS WELL, BUT THE ONLY WAY IN WHICH WE CAN POSITION OURSELVES TO HELP YOU WITH THAT IS TO BASICALLY GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR CONCERNS. I MEAN, I I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO SOME OF THE OTHER MEETINGS, UH, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH YOU CAN GATHER THROUGH THE PROCESS OF JUST SEEING, HEARING OR RECORDING. AND SO THE MORE THAT I'M ABLE TO LEARN THROUGH THE PROCESS OF ENGAGEMENT THAT MAY HELP IN TERMS OF IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF A SCOPE THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE SUBMITTED TO A CONTRACT. ABSOLUTELY. NO OTHER QUESTIONS, MR. AILEY. THANK YOU. SO THAT'S WHAT MY EXPERIENCE I CONDUCT NEEDS ASSESSMENTS FOR ORGANIZATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STANDPOINT IN MY BUSINESS, MY CONSULTING BUSINESS. AND SO ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, OR ONE OF THE MAIN PURPOSES WITH THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS TO REALLY DETERMINE [00:35:01] WHAT THE REAL ISSUE IS BECAUSE SOMETIMES A ISSUE MAY PRESENT ITSELF AS ONE THING, BUT THAT'S NOT THE REAL ISSUE. SO AS A COMMISSION, UM, I KNOW WE KNOW WHAT OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES ARE IN THE COMMUNITY. WE KNOW WHAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE INTERACT WITH IN THE COMMUNITY, WHAT THEIR ISSUES AND CONCERNS ARE. BUT AS MR AILEY SAID, I THINK THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT REALLY GETS TO THOSE DATA POINTS SO THAT WE CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, HOW PREVALENT IS ISSUE ABC, SO THAT WE CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT THE SPECIFIC ISSUES ARE THAT THE BULK OF OUR COMMITTEE OR OUR COMMUNITY IS WORKING AROUND OR DEALING WITH. SO THAT AS A COMMISSION, WE CAN ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE ISSUES AS IT PERTAINS TO, UM, THE CULTURE AND THE RACE ISSUE. SO, UM, THANK YOU MR. LEE FOR THAT. AND WE WILL, I'M SURE WE WILL HAVE MORE QUESTIONS FOR YOU, SO HOPEFULLY YOU'RE OPEN TO THAT. OKAY. YOU CAN'T HEAR ME? NO. MR. ELLISON. OH, OH, I'M SORRY. ALL I WANTED TO SAY WAS THAT THERE WERE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES THAT I INTRODUCED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION. AND SO YOU MAY WANT TO, UH, REVIEW SOME OF THAT INFORMATION OR EVEN CHANCES PRESENTATION, BECAUSE YOU'LL PROBABLY FIND THAT ILLUMINATING AS WELL. SHE HAS BEEN DOING NEEDS ASSESSMENT AS THE LEADER OF A NONPROFIT FOR ROUGHLY 25 YEARS. SO AGAIN, THAT LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE, YOU CAN'T PUT A DOLLAR VALUE ON THAT. WELL, THANK YOU. AND, UM, SO WE HAVE TOM ON WITH US AS WELL, AND HE'S FROM THE IMPACT GROUP, WHICH THEY CONDUCT THESE ASSESSMENTS FOR MY UNDERSTANDING. UM, SO I'M GOING TO OPEN THE FLOOR TO, UM, IF YOU LEARN IT, APPRECIATE IT. UM, WHAT'S YOUR LAST NAME? WHAT IS YOUR LAST NAME SPEAKS? SHE SPEAKS. OKAY. AND A FUNNY NAME. THAT'S ACTUALLY A SENTENCE. THAT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING ROB, IF YOU WANTED TO MAYBE KIND OF FRAME HOW YEAH, ABSOLUTELY GETTING TO EVERYBODY. UM, I JUST WANTED TO DROP IN BECAUSE, UM, WE'VE CERTAINLY BEEN TRACKING AND PUTTING A LOT OF EFFORTS INTO MAKING SURE THAT, UH, AS A CITY AND FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE STANDPOINT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE GATHER THE RESOURCES TO PUT THE, THE, UH, THE, THE ENGINES AND THE MOTORS AND THE TOOLS IN PLACE TO GET THIS OFF THE GROUND AND GOING. SO, UH, AGAIN, WE COMMEND THE COMMISSION FOR COMING UP WITH THE IDEA OF RIGHT OFF THE GATE RIGHT OUT, UH, FOR IDENTIFYING A, UM, UH, THE NEED FOR A NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UH, BECAUSE ARE THE POINTS THAT WERE DISCUSSED BY, UH, UH, BY MR. ELEY THERE EARLIER ARE EXACTLY WHY THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT NEEDS TO BE DONE. AND FOCUSING ON THAT FIRST STEP, HE'S EXACTLY RIGHT TO FINDING THAT SCOPE OF WORK. UM, ANOTHER THING THAT'S VERY, VERY CRITICAL THAT HE, THAT HE MADE MENTION OF WAS THE FACT THAT, UH, THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND AND KNOW WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS IS TO ASK THE COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, OKAY, HE'S A HUNDRED PERCENT, RIGHT. WE TEND TO BE IN OUR OWN SILOS, UH, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US THAT WORK WITH AND FOR THE ACTUAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT ITSELF, BECAUSE WE HAVE CERTAIN TASKS AND JOBS, AND WE SEE THAT AS TASKS AND JOBS. WE MAY NOT SEE THAT AS, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM THE EYES OF A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY WHILE WE'RE PERFORMING OUR JOB, WHEN WE'RE NOT, THEN, YOU KNOW, THEN WE, OUR MEMBERS AND WE MIGHT SEE IT, BUT IF THAT DOES OCCUR AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT, AND, AND WE, WE CERTAINLY, UH, HAVE, HAVE CONSISTENTLY TAKEN EFFORTS TO, TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, TO FIND THINGS OUT. IN FACT, WE'VE GOT A KIND OF A SLIGHT SURVEY GOING ON NOW. SO THIS IS BACK TO, UH, WHEN WE BROUGHT IT UP TO COUNCIL COUNCIL, OF COURSE, WAS, UH, WAS VERY SUPPORTIVE AND LEFT US WITH THE CHARGE TO GO BACK AND START IDENTIFYING SOME RESOURCES, UH, UP TO, AND INCLUDING IF WE COULDN'T IDENTIFY A REGIONAL LOCAL OR AN INTERNAL RESOURCES TO EFFECTIVELY ACCOMPLISH THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UH, TO THEN, YOU KNOW, ASSEMBLE, UM, SOME FORM OF, UH, OF PROCESS TO, TO, UH, TO, UH, TO IDENTIFY, UH, YOU KNOW, AN ADDITIONAL FROM THERE. LUCKILY THE IMPACT GROUP IS, UH, IS OUR COMMUNICATIONS FIRM. UH, THEY HAVE HANDLED MANY, MANY ITEMS FOR US. THEY ALSO HAVE HISTORY AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY, INCLUDING SOME OF THOSE, UH, SOME OF THOSE KEY DATA POINTS THAT THEY'VE GATHERED AND COLLECTED BEFORE. UH, AND, UH, THEY'RE WELL POISED AND READY TO BEGIN GOING. SO, UH, WE'VE HAD SOME INITIAL CONVERSATIONS. I KNOW TOM WILL PROBABLY TELL YOU HERE SOON. UH, HE HE'S GETTING READY AND WE WANTED TO WAIT FOR THIS MEETING, UH, AND MAKE THE INTRODUCTION POST THIS MEETING WITH HIM AND MR. ELEY AND SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT HE'S PROVIDED AND REALLY JUMP INTO THAT, UH, THAT STEP ONE OF IDENTIFYING THE SCOPE AND KIND OF MESHING THAT INTO SOME DATA GATHERING. AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, LIKE A WHITE BURB SESSION WITH THIS COMMISSION, UH, BECAUSE THIS COMMISSION HAS THE IDEAS OF WHAT SOME OF THAT SCOPE AND WHERE THOSE TARGET [00:40:01] AREAS OF, UH, OF, OF CONCERN AND IDENTIFYING, UH, THOSE EXPERIENCES ARE GOING TO BE, UH, AND, AND PUTTING THAT ALL TOGETHER AND FACILITATING A METHOD TO GET OUT AND ASK THE COMMUNITY, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY SEE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AFTER, UH, SOME OF THOSE SCOPES ARE DEFINED, UH, AS FAR AS SOME OF THE OTHER DATA POINTS THAT, UH, MR. ED MENTIONED AGAIN, THE NATIONAL DATA, SOME OF THOSE THINGS WE'VE GOT MANY OF THOSE RESOURCES, BUT THE KEY THING, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE NEED TO DO IS TO, UH, TO, TO, TO, TO FORMULATE AND ORGANIZE THE METHODS FOR GOOD COMMUNITY OUTREACH. AND THAT'S GOING TO START WITH UTILIZING THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PRESENTED TONIGHT WILL BE FOLLOWED UP WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME SESSIONS WITH THIS COMMISSION, UH, SO THAT, UH, TOM AND HIS GROUP CAN, CAN ASSEMBLE SOME TACTICS AND SOME OBJECTIVES TO GO OUT AND START GATHERING THAT INFORMATION, GATHERING THAT NECESSARY DATA SO THAT IT CAN THEN BE COMPILED INTO, UH, UH, SOME OF THOSE KEY FINDINGS. AND, UH, WE CAN DEVELOP THAT, THAT DOCUMENTED WAR PRODUCT THAT IDENTIFIES THOSE PRIORITIES AND ALLOWS THEM TO BE, UH, UH, THEN BROUGHT, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE COMMISSION, THROUGH THE CITY AND ALL RESOURCES TO IDENTIFY OBJECTIVES AND MEANS TO, TO ADDRESS THOSE KEY FINDINGS. UH, BUT AS I SAID TONIGHT, THAT THE MAIN, THE MAIN THING IS, IS TO GATHER THE RESOURCES. UH, LUCKILY WE'VE BEGUN DOING THAT. WE'VE GOT SOME RESOURCES ASSEMBLED, UH, WE HAVE WE'RE LAUNCHING AND, UH, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO THE, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE COMMISSION, CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR COMMUNITY. AND AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING UP WITH THE IDEA AND, UH, JUST HEARING MR. ULI TALKER, I'M CERTAINLY PROUD TO BE INVOLVED IN A COMMUNITY THAT HAS TAKEN THIS INITIATIVE AND ACTION AND TAKES THE IDEA OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT VERY SERIOUSLY, SO MUCH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALREADY, UH, YOU KNOW, JUMPING IN WITH BOTH FEET AND READY TO GET GOING. SO, UM, UH, I'LL, I'LL PASS IT OFF TO TOM IF HE HAD ANYTHING TO ASK OR ANY QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, JUST FROM MY STANDPOINT TO THE COMMISSION AND REPRESENTING COUNCIL AND LIAISON FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ELECTED OFFICIALS TO OUR ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE, UH, WE'RE IN THIS, WE'RE BEHIND THIS, WE'RE EXCITED HERE, WHAT TYPE OF INPUT THAT THE COMMISSION BRINGS TO THE TABLE. AND JUST LIKE MR. ED SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FACILITATOR OF THIS PROCESS, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL DEVELOP THAT AND GO FORWARD. IT'S OUR JOB TO HELP PROVIDE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THOSE INITIAL IDENTIFY NEEDS, AND THEN BE CATALYSTS TO GET OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, TO IDENTIFY THOSE GROUPS THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE HEARD FROM. AND THAT'S WHERE THE MULTITUDES OF EXPERTISE THAT LIVES WITHIN THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY BENEFICIAL. SO I'M JUST VERY EXCITED AND, UM, AND, AND VERY BRIGHT, VERY PROUD TO BE PART OF IT. SO, SO, UM, SO AT THE LAUNCH BUTTON AND GO GOING ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANKS, PROBABLY JUST THAT. I WANT TO BEGIN BY SAYING, UH, UH, YOLANDA AND MR. LEE, YOU GUYS YOU'RE DEAD ON, RIGHT. AS FAR AS THIS IS ALL ABOUT THE SCOPE, IT'S ALL ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE EVEN TRYING TO STUDY AS HAVING DONE THIS NOW FOR 20 YEARS. PLUS, UH, THESE THINGS CAN BE ENORMOUS OR THEY CAN BE SMALL, OR, YOU KNOW WHAT, ALSO THE BALANCE I IMAGINE MR. LEE HAS DEALT WITH QUITE A BIT TOO, IS, IS THE IDEA OF, WE GOT TO GET TO ACTION AT SOME POINT, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU CAN STUDY THESE THINGS TILL, TILL THE COWS COME HOME. UH, SO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS REALLY DEFINE WHAT THIS IS, PUT TOGETHER A VERY STRATEGIC PROCESS AND GET GOING. OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANT TO GET GOING UNTIL WE'RE READY, BUT I, THERE IS THAT POINT WHERE WE NEED TO DECIDE, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? WHAT IS THE SCOPE? HOW DO WE GO FORWARD? SO IT'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS FOR FOUR HOURS, BUT TO BREAK IT DOWN WHAT YOU SAID AT THE MOMENT, IT GOES DEAD ON, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE SCOPE? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO, TO, TO, TO, UH, UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE COMMUNITY? AND WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL IN THAT. IT'S WHAT THE COMMUNITY IS CONVEYING AS OPPOSED TO ANY SMALL GROUPS, ANY SMALL GROUP IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE HAS SOME PRECONCEIVED IDEAS AS TO WHAT THE ISSUES ARE IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, RIGHT? SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALLOW THE COMMUNITY TO WEIGH, TO, TO BUBBLE UP SOME OF THOSE THINGS. SO THE PROCESS HAS TO, HAS TO BEGIN WHERE I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO, ANY PROCESS REALLY BEGINS IN OUR WORLD. I IMAGINE THIS REALLY HAS A SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCE IN YOLANDA AS WELL, AND YOURS IS A WHITEBOARD SESSION OR THE EQUIVALENT OF IT. WE GET THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM THAT ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS RIGHT NOW. AND WE JUST COLLECTIVELY GO THROUGH ALL OF THE QUESTIONS, REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT, REALLY TRYING TO GET TO THE ROOT OF IT, THAT BEING OUR BASIS. THEN WE BEGIN TO CONSTRUCT THE MODEL TO GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. AND THAT INVOLVES, THAT INVOLVES SOME STANDING COMMITTEE THAT INVOLVES FOCUS GROUPS, REALLY, REALLY TARGETED FOCUS GROUPS. AND WE HAVE HAD AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SUCCESS IN THIS COVID ENVIRONMENT OF ENGAGING PEOPLE. IT'S, IT'S PRETTY FASCINATING. ACTUALLY, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S HARD TO GET PEOPLE ENGAGED. YOU CAN GET THEM OUT TO A GROUP AND THIS AND THAT, BUT COVID WITH ZOOM, THEY'LL GET ENGAGED. SO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS REALLY, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS IN THE WHITEBOARD SESSION, WHAT ARE THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COMMUNITY, WHICH WE NEED TO REALLY GET UNDER [00:45:01] THE HOOD AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS YOUR PERCEPTION? WHY DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY? WHAT IS THE BASIS OF THAT? HOW, WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? REALLY TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO SAY WHAT'S ON THEIR HEARTS AND TO GIVE THEM A SAFE SPACE, TO SAVE CONFIDENTIAL SPACE, TO DO THAT. SO HAVE ALL THOSE FOCUS GROUPS AND THAT STANDING COMMITTEE SERVING HAS A GREAT ROLE IN THIS AS WELL. THIS IS THE QUALITATIVE PIECE, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT TO GET THE, THE SERVING ON, UH, ONLINE PIECES THAT'S PROPERLY DONE. WE NEED TO DO SOMETIMES PAPER SURVEYS FOR SOME, SOME ELDERLY COMMUNITIES AND SUCH. WE FOUND THAT, UH, PHONE POLLING WORKS WELL WITH 65. PLUS GENERALLY, THEY'RE THE ONLY PEOPLE RIGHT NOW THAT ARE ANSWERING A LANDLINE. GOD BLESS THEM. UH, SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS MAKE SURE WE'RE ENGAGING THOSE FOLKS, RIGHT? SO YOU HAD YOUR, YOUR QUANTITATIVE AND YOUR QUALITATIVE. AND WE WOULD DISCUSS THIS ALL THROUGH THE WHITEBOARD SESSION AND TO BUILD A PARTNERSHIP OF ALL OF US, TO GATHER ALL OF THIS DIFFERENT DATA, THESE DIFFERENT DATA POINTS. AND THEN AS MR. LEE SAID A LITTLE WHILE AGO TO NOW YOU ANALYZE ALL THIS, RIGHT? YOU ANALYZE WHAT IT SAYS, UH, WHAT, WHERE DIRECTION WE SHOULD GO WHILE OVERLAPPING ALL THAT DEMOGRAPHIC AND ALL THE OTHER INFORMATION. NOW, IT REALLY BEGINS TO PAINT A PICTURE. AND NOW WE CAN, THIS IS THE CLIFF NOTES HERE, BUT NOW WHAT WE DO IS WE START TO ESTABLISH WHAT ARE SOME ACTION POINTS? WHAT ARE, SO WHAT ARE THE, THE THINGS THAT IF WE TACKLE THESE PARTICULAR THINGS, IT'S GOING TO HAVE THE MOST IMPACT IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE WITH THE FINITE RESOURCES WE HAVE. SO YOU BEGIN TO PRIORITIZE. AND ALSO AS MR. LEE SAID, THEN YOU BEGIN TO COMMUNICATE, RIGHT? SO YOU FOUND OUT THIS IS OUR PROCESS. WE'VE GATHERED OUR DATA. HERE ARE SOME ACTION STEPS TO MOVE FORWARD, AND HERE'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO IT. SO THERE'S, THERE'S MANY, MANY WAYS TO TACKLE THIS. UH, BUT IT ALL BEGINS WITH THAT WHITEBOARD SESSION. IT ALL BEGINS WITH THIS GROUP SITTING IN A ROOM, WHETHER PHYSICALLY OR ONLINE, AND REALLY TAKING A COUPLE HOURS TO GET UNDER THE HOOD AND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THESE PIECES ARE. SO TOM YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING PART OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. NOW WITH THE CITY OR LEVEL OF ASSESSMENT OR SURVEY, IT'S THE, UH, THE REFUSE AND THE RECYCLING TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE'VE DONE. GOSH, FOR 20 YEARS, WE'VE WORKED WITH CITIES AND MANY, MANY, MANY, I MEAN, DOZENS AND DOZENS AND DOZENS OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND BOARDS OF DEVELOPMENT DISABILITIES, AND ALL THE REST TO ESTABLISH IS THEIR, WHAT IS THEIR STRATEGIC PLAN? WHAT IS THEIR DIRECTION FORWARD? HOW DO THEY SUPPORT THE CONSTITUENCIES WITHIN THOSE AREAS? UH, AND, AND THE DIVERSITY INCLUSION IS OBVIOUSLY ALWAYS, ALWAYS A BIG PIECE OF THOSE OF THOSE EFFORTS. ONE OF THE THINGS WHICH WE ALWAYS GET EXCITED ABOUT TOO, IS THE FIRST STRATEGIC PLANNING PERSPECTIVE. THIS IS KIND OF FOUR OR FIVE CHESS MOVES DOWN THE BOARD, BUT, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE ACTIONABLE ITEMS WHO IS DOING WHAT, WHEN TO MOVE A BALL FORWARD, THAT GETS EXCITING, RIGHT? BECAUSE NOW WE'RE ACTUALLY, WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING ACTION AND MAKING THINGS HAPPEN. OKAY. SO WITH YOUR AGENCY, WHAT'S THE LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE WITH SPECIFICALLY THE DIVERSITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT? WELL, WITH THE DIVERSITY, WE'VE SPECIFICALLY DONE QUITE A BIT WITH, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WITH CITIES, WITH ONCE AGAIN, AS A PART OF THE OVERALL SCOPE OF THE PROJECT, UH, LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF WHAT THE CITY OR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT PROVIDES. THAT IS, THAT IS ALWAYS ONE OF THOSE PIECES, WHICH COMES UP AND WHICH IS, WHICH HAS TO BE ADDRESSED. SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE DONE QUITE A BIT. SO THAT'S BEEN LIKE TARGETED TOWARDS SPECIFICALLY FOR DIVERSITY CULTURE, RACE, HAVE THOSE BEEN TARGETED ASSESSMENTS, TARGETED ASSESSMENT. THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE LARGER ASSESSMENTS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. YEAH, IT DOES, BUT IT'S NOT BEEN, I'M JUST TRYING TO, TO UNDERSTAND THE LEVEL OF EXPERTISE WITH LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT RACE RELATIONS, UM, CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, BIASES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, NOT ANY SPECIFIC, CITY-WIDE ONE ON THE DIVERSITY. HAVE I DONE DOZENS AND DOZENS HAVE OUR GROUP DONE WITH THE CITY SCHOOLS AND THE REST AND ALICIA, IT IS ABSOLUTELY A PIECE OF THE CULTURE, A PIECE OF THEIR, UH, THE, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICTS RIGHT NOW ARE DOING SOMETHING CALLED PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE IN WHICH THEY ARE, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A STUDENT THAT GRADUATES THAT SCHOOL? AND ONE OF THEM IS ALWAYS A SENSITIVITY TO DIVERSITY, UNDERSTANDING WORLD CULTURE. I MEAN, IT'S, SO IT'S A PIECE OF IT. YES. UH, THIS IS ERIC. UM, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW, OR LET'S SAY, TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, THOSE, UH, PREVIOUS ASSESSMENTS THAT YOU'VE DONE. SO IN THE STRATEGIC PLANS. SURE. [00:50:01] OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO TOM, YOUR AGENCY ACTUALLY HELPS SCOPE OUT THE PROJECT. UM, LOOK AT WHAT THE, HOW THE NEEDS ASSESSMENTS WILL BE SET UP, SET UP THE FOCUS GROUPS, UM, CONTACT WITH TARGET AUDIENCES, THEN TAKE THE DATA AND ACTUALLY LOOK AT DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC PLAN AROUND THAT DATA IS THAT YOU'RE POTENTIALLY WELL, WHAT'S THE, ONCE AGAIN, I'M HUMBLY, I'M COMING TO THIS LEARNING ABOUT YOU GUYS TONIGHT AS WELL. SO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY, UH, MR. ELEY, YOUR EXPERTISE TO LONDA, UM, I'D LOVE TO SEE HOW ALL THE DIFFERENT PUZZLE PIECES FIT, BUT SURE. OKAY. OKAY. ARE THERE ANY, YEAH, I W I WOULD ADD IN A REAL QUICK, UH, JUST TO FOLLOW UP THE, THE, THE GOAL OF THIS, BECAUSE TO TAKE A COOKIE CUTTER, A NEEDS ASSESSMENT OR A STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, ONE OF THOSE VARIOUS MODELS, I TEND TO LIKE THE CARE MODEL THAT MR. ELEY, UM, TALKED ABOUT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING ALL OF THOSE, BUT TO, TO TAKE A COOKIE CUTTER, UH, THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IN, IN A PROCESS, UH, DEFINED PROCESSES IS A GOOD PLACE TO START, BUT I REALLY THINK THAT BECAUSE THIS IS, AS YOU MENTIONED, NOT A NEW THING, UH, BUT KIND OF A REINVENTED THING OUT OF A SPECIAL AND A NIGHT IN A TARGETED, IDENTIFIED PURPOSE AND REASON, RIGHT? SO IT WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT SITUATION IF THIS WAS JUST A, HEY, AS PART OF OUR REGULAR ONGOING, UH, YOU KNOW, INPUT IN, IN PRIVATIZATION DEVELOPMENT, LET'S INCLUDE DIVERSITY. WE ALL KNOW THAT MOST OF THIS WAS POINTED IN DRAWN TO OUR ATTENTION BECAUSE OF RECENT EVENTS. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, I THINK THAT IT, IT LIKELY WOULD CHANGE THE BASIC SCOPE OF THINGS. SO THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOT COME IN WITH TOO MUCH PREDEFINED PROCESS IN MIND, BUT TO UTILIZE PEOPLE LIKE TOM AND HIS FIRM AND, AND, AND, AND, AND CARLTON AND, AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO HAS INPUT AS TO HOW YOU CAN TAKE AND SHAPE WHAT IS IDENTIFIED AS THE CURRENT AND RECENT NEEDS TO THEN FURTHER ENHANCE AND DEFINE THAT PROCESS TO MOVE FORWARD. SO, UH, ALTHOUGH TO TAKE AN EXAMPLE OF, UH, AN EXISTING, AND I KNOW YOU USED THE WORD TARGETED TOWARDS ONE SPECIFIC THING, I THINK THE EVENTS AND THE SITUATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT HAS PLACED THIS AS A PRIORITY UPON US, UH, IS KIND OF A BEGINNING POINT IN THE FOUNDATION TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME NEW WAYS TO ADD TO THE SCOPE AND SOME NEW WAYS TO OPERATE AND CREATE A FORMULA TO CONDUCT THE GATHERING OF THE DATA AND ESTABLISHING THE PRIORITIES. UH, AND I THINK KEEPING THAT OPEN MIND IS GOING TO BE KEY TO MAKING THIS, UM, THE RIGHT THING. WE DON'T WANT TO JUST TAKE A STANDARD PROCESS, CHECK ALL THE BOXES, WRITE A REPORT AND THROW IT UP ON A SHELF. THIS NEEDS TO BE A LIVING, BREATHING, UH, CERTAINLY A GROWING PROCESS. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, W WITH, WITH A LOT OF ENERGY AND EFFORT, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT, WITH SOME DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS, SOME QUESTIONS, CAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GO THERE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO, AS TOM SAID, LIFT UP THE HOOD AND, AND, UH, AND, AND TAKE A LOOK INSIDE. SO, UM, JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT. YEAH. OKAY. THANKS, MR. SCHIRMER, THOSE ARE DEFINITELY VALID POINTS. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR TOM? WELL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME A PART OF YOUR MEETING TONIGHT. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU FOR COMING TO SHARE MORE ABOUT, UM, THE IMPACT GROUP AND ROB, DID YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE MS. SAILOR? AWESOME. I'M SORRY. IT CUT OUT. INTRODUCE MISS SARAH, SARAH, YOUR, I SEE YOUR, I SEE YOUR FACE DOWN THERE. UH, SARAH WILLIAMS, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST. SHE'S, UH, SHE COMES TO US IF YOU'VE, IF YOU'VE NOT BEFORE, UM, SHE IS, UM, UH, VERSED IN HER PREVIOUS LIFE OF WORKING WITH SOME NONPROFITS, UH, AND CERTAINLY WORKING WITH A DIVERSE SET OF GROUPS, BUT SHE'S REALLY HELPING US IDENTIFY, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NEEDS IN INCLUDING THINGS THAT COME FROM AND WITHIN, UH, THIS COMMISSION AND, UH, IN OUR OTHER COMMISSIONS LIKE ARTS AND BEAUTIFICATION, [00:55:01] UH, WITH, UH, THE COMMUNITY EVENTS ARE EVENTS THAT THEY HAVE. UH, AND THEN OF COURSE WITH THIS COMMISSION NOW MOVING SOME MORE OF THE CULTURAL BASED INITIATIVES HERE. SO, UM, SARAH, UM, TAKE IT AWAY. WE'RE, UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE HER ON BOARD. I AM PRETTY MUCH HERE TO HELP, HOWEVER I CAN HELP WITH PROMOTING AND BRANDING AND MAKING SURE THE WORD IS GETTING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND THEN WITH THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO BRING EVERYTHING TOGETHER AND MAKE THE WHOLE COMMUNITY AWARE AS TO WHAT'S WHAT'S BIG AND EXCITING AND FUN, AND THE WAY THAT EVERYBODY CAN BE PART OF THIS PROCESS. I DO HAVE A QUESTION SARAH AT, SO HAS, HAS THE CITY PUT OUT, I KNOW YOU WERE WORKING ON A NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR THE CITY, IS THAT CORRECT? SO IT'S, WE'VE DISCUSSED IT AND, UM, IT'S KIND OF IN PLAN, UM, BUT JUST REALLY KIND OF LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PICTURE. SO WHEN I STARTED LAST FEBRUARY, SO I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE QUITE A FULL YEAR YET. UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIG THINGS. AND THE FIRST QUESTIONS THAT I SAID, I SAID, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU TALKED TO COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY WANT, WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THE COMMUNITY? AND WHERE IS THE DIRECTION THAT THE COMMUNITY FEELS THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD BE TAKING? UM, AND SO REALIZING THAT IT HAD PROBABLY BEEN A REALLY LONG TIME, UH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE PRIORITIES THAT I HAVE ON MY LIST, UM, FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS TO REALLY FOCUS ON. AND THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SOMETHING I HAD BROUGHT TO ROB'S ATTENTION, AS WELL AS BRIAN'S ATTENTION AND SAYING, HEY, WE CAN'T PLAN THINGS FOR THE COMMUNITY UNLESS WE KNOW WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO COME TO. CAUSE IF WE JUST KEEP THROWING SPAGHETTI ON THE WALL AND NOBODY COMES AND WE'VE NOT ASKED THEM WHY WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD. OKAY. SO THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WAS DEFINITIVE LIKE FOR THIS YEAR OR ANYTHING. RIGHT. I MEAN, WE, WE DO HAVE PLANS OF, OF DEFINITELY DOING SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR TO BE ABLE TO GET FEEDBACK AND INSIGHT AS TO WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON DOING. UM, SO YEAH, THAT'S FINE. THERE'S MULTIPLE LAYERS OF THINGS THAT AS A CITY HAS TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP MODERNIZED UP-TO-DATE AND REACTIVE TO THE SERVICE DEMANDS OF THE COMMUNITY. UM, THIS YEAR WE'RE FOCUSING ON OUR COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WHICH IS KIND OF A, UH, A SPECIALTY, UH, TYPE OF STRATEGIC PLAN. UH, AND WHAT SARAH WAS INITIALLY REFERRING TO WAS W W FOR LACK OF BETTER TERMS, UH, GENERALIZE, UH, OVERALL CITIZEN TYPE OF SURVEY TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE DOING. AND THAT WOULD BE THE FIRST STEP. AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE PLANNING TO DO INTO THIS YEAR. UM, AND WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF COTTAGE THINGS GOING ON, ONE WITH THE, UH, WITH THE TRASH SERVICE, BUT SEPARATE FROM THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT REGARDING, UM, YOU KNOW, INEQUALITY, CULTURE AND DIVERSITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. THAT IS CERTAINLY A TOPIC THAT IS SEPARATE. THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE DONE ARE MORE BROAD AND, AND OVERLAID TO TAKE A TOPIC THIS IMPORTANT AND TRY TO INTEGRATE IT INTO ONE OF THOSE LARGER SCALE THINGS. IT WOULD BE TOO DILUTED AND, UM, WOULD LIKELY NOT HAVE THE QUANTITY OF RESULTS THAT ARE NEEDED. RIGHT. AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH TOM AND THE IMPACT GROUP ON THE TRASH SURVEY. UM, YOU KNOW, AND SO FAR, YOU KNOW, ANYTIME THAT WE'VE REACHED OUT, YOU KNOW, ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND TRYING TO GET SOME IDEAS AS TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN, THAT HAS WORKED OUT PRETTY POSITIVELY. UM, SO I FEEL THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO ASK, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY, HEY, THEY'RE ASKING, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY LISTENING AND DOING SO THERE IS DEFINITELY A MORE POSITIVE VIBE TOWARDS GETTING THAT FEEDBACK THAT I'VE ALREADY KIND OF STARTED PLANTING THAT SEED OVER THIS LAST YEAR. YEAH. I ASKED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF, UM, JUST MAKING SURE THAT I ABSOLUTELY AGREE THIS IS A STANDALONE A NEEDS ASSESSMENT, BECAUSE IT'S VERY, WE'RE LOOKING AT VERY SPECIFIC ISSUES VERSUS DILUTING IT WITHIN AN OVERARCHING, UM, COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT. BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT TIMING WISE THAT THERE'S NOT IN PEOPLE ARE NOT INUNDATED WITH AN ASSESSMENT BECAUSE THAT CAN ALSO AFFECT YOUR RESPONSES, UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU GET THEM. SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TIMELINE, UM, THAT THERE'S NO CONFLICT WITH THAT. [01:00:01] YEAH, NO, THAT'S WHY WE, WE'VE KIND OF DEFERRED THAT OVERARCHING THING AND FOCUSED MORE BEFORE OUR GENERAL THING IS GOING TO BE THE, UM, THE COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WHICH IS MORE LAND USE PLANNING, THOROUGHFARE, PLANNING, STREETS, AND WORD WASTE AND STUFF THAT WOULDN'T INVOLVE A WHOLE LOT OF CITIZEN, CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT AND VR RPC DOES A WHOLE LOT OF THAT. AND WE JUST KIND OF REUTILIZE AND IDENTIFY A LOT OF THAT DATA. AND WE WANTED TO PUT THE, THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO THE FRONT BURNER AND GET GOING ON IT AND GET THROUGH THAT. SO FOR THAT EXACT REASON THAT YOU SAID YOLANDA, UH, THE LAST THING THAT WE WANT IS SURVEY FATIGUE OR INPUT FATIGUE FROM THE RESIDENTS. SO A VERY GOOD POINT. AND, UM, YES, UH, YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE NO CONCERN. YOU SHOULD HAVE NO CONCERNS WITH THAT. WE STRATEGICALLY HAVE PLANNED TO DO IT JUST LIKE THAT. OKAY, PERFECT. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERS? NOTHING. ALL RIGHT. WELL, UM, I THINK ALL OF YOU FOR VISITING WITH US TONIGHT, UM, YOU CAN HANG OUT WITH THIS AND STAY, OR THEY, YOU KNOW, SHOOT THE BREEZE OR, UM, BUT YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAY ON. I UNDERSTAND IF YOU HAVE OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO DO TONIGHT, BUT FEEL FREE TO BE DO ALL RIGHT. OKAY. SO, WELL, MAY I ASK YOU TO ASK, ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO BE DISCUSSING THE, UH, THE SCOPE OF MOVING FORWARD? ANYTHING? OR IS THIS IT, IS THERE HOW I WOULD WANT TO HANG OUT IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S A SUBSTANTIVE. YEAH, NO, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE SCOPE TONIGHT. UM, BUT THAT, THAT WILL BE A SEPARATE DIALOGUE. OKAY. YEAH. YEAH. GO AHEAD. I WOULD SAY ON THAT TOPIC REAL QUICK, JUST VERY BRIEFLY, UM, YOU KNOW, TOM, THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE KIND OF ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK ON TO, TO, TO YOU REACH OUT, TO SEE WHAT RESOURCES YOU NEED TO PUT TOGETHER IN AN, I ENVISION A LIKELY, UM, CALLING, UH, CALLING, HAVING YELLEN TO CALL A MEETING SO THAT YOU CAN FOLLOW BACK UP WITH THEM TO GET THAT WHITEBOARD SESSION OR WHATEVER. SO, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL KIND OF BE, UM, WE'LL KIND OF BE PUSHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD FROM OUR END TO GET THAT, TO GET THAT GOING. AND, UM, SO I'LL, I'LL LOOK TO YOU TO TOM TO, UH, UH, BEGIN ORGANIZING SOME THOUGHTS AS TO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO TO, UH, GET THE GROUP TOGETHER FOR, YOU KNOW, AS YOU PUT IT, THAT WHITEBOARD SESSION AND ONE OF THE RESOURCES THAT, UH, WE WANT TO INITIALLY START OFF WITH, THAT'D BE GREAT FOR THAT. IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION TO BOUNCE SOME THINGS OFF OF YOU AND BE ON THE SAME PAGE. AND THAT'D BE AWESOME. YEAH. JUST QUICK QUESTION THOUGH. SO IN THAT INITIAL, I GUESS WHITEBOARD SESSION, WHO ALL, WHO ALL ARE THE PARTICIPANTS THAT THE DISTRICT COMMISSION ALONG WITH WITH UTAH, OR WHO ELSE IS INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS NOW, ONCE AGAIN, IS GOING TO BE ACTUALLY HAVE TO DEFINE THAT, RIGHT. SO DO WE HAVE, IS IT, IS IT THIS GROUP, BUT DO WE DO EXPANDED A LITTLE BIT WITH SOME COMMUNITY INFLUENCERS DO INITIALLY I WOULD WANT TO SAY THAT YOU, YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR INITIAL FRAMING DISCUSSION WITH SORT OF THE FOLKS ON, ON THE INSIDE THAT ARE A PART OF THIS, AND THEN, THEN IT BEGINS TO BROADEN. BUT IF WE DO THE INITIAL SCOPING TOO BROADLY, IT JUST GETS REALLY WACKY FAST CAUSE THEY ACTUALLY EVERYBODY'S GOT THEIR OWN THING. SO I, IT, THERE IS SEVERAL PHASES TO IT, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THE FIRST PHASE IS PROBABLY THIS CORE GROUP UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE, HOW TO MOVE FORWARD. AND THEN WE CAN DEFINE FROM THERE HOW TO BRING IN MORE STAKEHOLDERS. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THIS IS CARLTON EYLEA AGAIN WITH THE MIAMI VALLEY, REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION, YOLANDA, OR ROBERT. IF I IMAGINE YOU GUYS HAVE A CLEARER SENSE OR A BETTER PICTURE IN TERMS OF WHAT MAY BE HEAVIER LIFTS IN ORDER TO GET THE PROCESS STARTED. SO IF YOU HAVE A SENSE OF TERMS OF WHAT THOSE MAY BE, UH, DON'T HESITATE TO SHARE THOSE WITH THE MIAMI VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE A POSSIBILITY THAT WE COULD PROBABLY HELP AND ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, UM, AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO OVER PROMISE ANYTHING, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE AWARE THAT WE'RE HERE TO, UH, PROVIDE A SERVICE TO OUR MEMBERS AND WITH [01:05:01] CUBA HIGHEST, OBVIOUSLY BEING ONE OF THEM. SO, UM, IF YOU HAVE THE CHANCES TO THINK THROUGH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE HAVE YOUR LIFTS, LET US KNOW. AND THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WE PROBABLY COULD PLAY A ROLE IN. YEAH. I THINK TOM ALREADY MENTIONED, HE'S COUNTING ON REACHING OUT TO YOU REAL SOON, SO I'M SURE THAT'LL BE, UH, YOU'LL BE ONE OF HIS FIRST OUTREACHES MR. AWARE OF IF THERE ARE ANY OF THE OTHER CITIES THAT ARE CONSIDERING THIS, OR ARE EMBARKING ON A TEST LIKE THIS YET NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT I'M ABLE TO, TO SPEAK TO PERSONALLY. UM, I CAN SAY THAT WITHIN THE SPAN OF THE PAST SIX MONTHS, UH, EVER SINCE WE, UH, RELEASED OUR RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED ON EQUITY, DIVERSITY INCLUSION IN OCTOBER, UH, WE'VE HAD SOME COURT INQUIRIES FROM THE CITY OF, UH, OAKWOOD, UH, FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI ICEBERG AND ALSO FROM THE CITY OF FEWER HEIGHTS. UH, AND EACH REQUEST WAS SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT. SO, UH, AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, YOU KNOW, AS THE WORK OF THE REGIONAL EQUITY INITIATIVE TAKES FLIGHT, UH, AND AS OTHER COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, GROW AND MATURE IN TERMS OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TO VENTURE DOWN THIS PATH, UH, THEY WILL PROBABLY HAVE OTHER UNIQUE NEEDS AS WELL. SO RIGHT NOW IT'S KIND OF CONTEXT SENSITIVE TO WHAT THE COMMUNITY FEELS IS, IS THEIR, THEIR BIGGEST, BIGGEST PRIORITY. OBVIOUSLY BEYOND THE MIAMI VALLEY, THERE ARE COMMUNITIES THAT, THAT UNDERGO THE PROCESS OF DOING NEEDS ASSESSMENT, BUT, UH, NONE HAVE BEEN RAISED AT LEAST WITHIN THE SPAN OF THE PAST SIX MONTHS. AND SO THAT ALSO DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE AREN'T COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE DONE A NEW A NEEDS ASSESSMENT THEMSELVES, BUT IT SEEMS THAT YOURS IN PARTICULAR IS MOTIVATED PARTICULARLY TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF DIVERSITY ISSUES OF INCLUSION ISSUES THAT MAY AFFECT UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND NOT EVERY NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS DESIGNED TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON THOSE NICHE AREAS. SO, SO YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO DEFINE WHOM YOUR POPULATION IS FOR YOUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. UH, WE ARE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS THE MISSION AND LEGISLATION, UM, WHERE WE LEFT THAT IN THE LAST MEETING IS, UH, MAYOR GORE. AND I WERE CONNECTING ON THE LEGISLATION, WHICH WE'VE CONNECTED AND DID NOT GET TO THOROUGHLY DISCUSS THAT. SO, UM, WE'RE GOING TO TABLE THAT. AND SO OUR NEXT MEETING, WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING IN OUR NEXT MEETING ON THAT, UM, THE PROCLAMATION, UM, PROCLAMATION RESOLUTION. DO WE HAVE A, AN UPDATE ON THAT WANDA OR ANY ADDITIONAL UPDATES? I THINK IN OUR LAST MEETING, WE, THAT WE WERE GOING TO INVITE ROB AND MAYOR, UH, TO A DISCUSSION. SO I THINK WE'RE JUST WAITING ON MAYOR GORE TO UPDATE HIS AVAILABILITY FOR THE MONDAY MEETING. AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE LEFT OFF WITH THAT. OKAY. SO AT THIS POINT, I THINK THAT EVERYONE HAS TIMED IN, UM, AND PROVIDED EDITS TO THE, THE PROCLAMATION AS IT WAS WRITTEN DRAFTED UNTIL NOW THAT DRAFT WILL BE TAKEN TO THE CITY AND DISCUSSED, UM, WITH MAYOR GORE AND, UH, MR. SHELMAR. OKAY. THANK YOU, MS. SUMLIN, I CAN REAL QUICK SAY, UM, I'M NOT SURE I WAS SPEAKING WITH THE MAYOR ACTUALLY EARLIER TODAY. UM, WRAPPING UP CALENDARS, AND IF IT DIDN'T GO THROUGH, I THOUGHT THAT I PUT OUT AN INVITE, UH, REGARDING, I BELIEVE DIDN'T WE TALK ABOUT MONDAY, UH, AT FIVE 30. YES, I WE'RE. WE'RE ON FOR THAT. OKAY. YEAH. SO IF THE, IF THEY SHOULD BUY, DIDN'T GO THROUGH ALL I'LL CHECK AND SEE IF IT GOES THROUGH AGAIN, BUT ALL, UH, BUT WE'RE ON FOR MONDAY. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I'LL UH, I'LL CHECK AND SEE AND MAKE SURE IT GOES THROUGH. CAUSE YOU SAID YOU WANT TO BE UP UNTIL FIVE 30, RIGHT? YEAH. I CAN DO A FIVE 30. THAT'S RIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. NEXT ITEM IS, UH, MLK EVENTS. AND I GUESS WE'LL KIND OF ROLL THAT INTO COMMITTEE REPORTS SINCE THE MLK EVENTS FALL UNDER OUTREACH. SO WE'LL START [01:10:01] WITH OUTREACH. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE RIGHT. COMMITTEE MET, UM, AGAIN YESTERDAY, UM, AND KIND OF FINALIZE THE, UH, WHAT WE PLAN TO DO FOR THE MLK UNITY, UNITY WALK. UM, WE PLAN TO START ON, UM, JANUARY 18TH, 10 O'CLOCK TO 1130 AT, UM, MARY AND PLAZA, AND THEN ENDING THAT WALK AT WAYNE TOWN. BUT AS A, SO IT'S NOT THAT FAR OF A WALK, UM, PRETTY MUCH AROUND THE CORNER AND DOWN THE BLOCK TO WHERE, UH, AND, UH, AND THE, THE PARKING LOT WHERE, UM, THE BNV AND ALL OF THAT STUFF IS OVER THERE OVER IN, UM, WAYNE TOWN PLAZA. WE'LL HAVE, UM, SOME, UH, FLYERS TO GET OUT, BUT WE ARE ASKING FOR, UH, ASKING FOR THE COMMISSION TO, UM, SEEK, I GUESS WE'VE GOT TO SEEK APPROVAL OF COUNCIL TO DO THAT, UM, FOR THE MLK WALK, WHICH PLAN WOULD BE AGAIN, JANUARY 18, FROM 10 O'CLOCK TO 1130, STARTING AT MARION PLAZA, AND WE'LL HAVE, UH, A FLYER OUT. AND I HAD EVERY INTENTION TO HAVE IN THAT FLYER TONIGHT. UM, I HAD A FEW MEETINGS THROWN AT ME FOR WORK, BUT, UH, YOU'LL HAVE THAT, UH, NO LATER THAN NINE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, MOSTLY. SO WE CANNOT DISTRIBUTE THAT FLYER SO THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BE AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE DOING IT. UM, THE SECOND ISSUE OR ACTIVITY FOR THE, THE COMMITTEE IS A BLACK HISTORY MONTH ESSAY CONTEST THAT WE'RE PLANNING. UH, WE'LL BE ROLLING THAT OUT. UM, SOMETIMES TOWARD THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY, WE HAVE ANOTHER MEETING AND IT IS NOT TO WORK OUT OR FINALIZE THE LOGISTICS AND DETAILS FOR THE, UM, ESSAY CONTEST. UH, THE INTENT IS TO TARGET JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OVER AT WISE UNBORN. AND WE HAVE FOLKS ON THE COMMITTEE THAT ARE, UH, SECURING, UM, SOME, UH, INCENTIVES IF YOU WOULD, FOR STUDENTS OR, AND WILL SERVE AS JUDGES TO, TO, UM, TO EVALUATE THOSE ESSAYS AND PICK A WINNER. AND THOSE PRIZES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION. I'M SORRY, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THE, UM, THIRD ACTIVITY, UH, THE HUBER HEIGHTS CULTURE FESTIVAL THAT WE ARE PLANNING FOR JUNE 12TH, UM, WITH THE, UH, THE, THE, THE HOPE THAT THIS COVID THING WILL HAVE, UH, AT LEAST DIMINISHED BY IN SOME CAPACITY. SO WE CAN HAVE SOME PUBLIC JUNE 21ST, AND I DIDN'T WRITE DOWN THE TIME, BUT I THINK I HAVE IT FROM JUNE, UH, JUNE 12TH TO SIX. I WANT TO SAY, UH, YEAH, TWO TO 6:00 PM EICHELBERGER. AND, UH, WE'LL BE AGAIN, SENDING OUT INVITATIONS TO PARTICIPANTS AND RHONDA HAVE SOME, SOME FOLKS THAT THEY HAD STARTED TO DO THIS WITH LAST YEAR, AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO TAKE THOSE SAME INVITATIONS, SEND THOSE OUT AND SEE IF WE CAN DRUM UP SOME INTEREST AND MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, IF YOU WOULD, TO, UH, PARTICIPATE IN THE, UM, HEBREW HEIGHTS CULTURE FESTIVAL. AND WE WILL STILL BE WORKING ON THAT. SO DETAILS ARE FORTHCOMING, BUT WE'LL SECURE THE PARTICIPANTS EARLY AS WE AWAIT FOR, UM, AGAIN, APPROVAL OF THE COUNCIL FOR THAT, UH, FOR THAT ACTIVITY ON JUNE 12TH. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE. SO WHAT, WHAT DO WE NEED FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE OR MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION? UM, ONCE WE GET THE FLYERS DOWN, OF COURSE, SPREAD OUT, SPREAD THE WORD OUT AND LET'S GET IT ON THE, UM, UH, THE RE I FORGOT WHAT'S CALLED THAT THING AT THE CORNER BACKS. YEAH, KEY ADS. AND, UM, THE, UH, THE, THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE A MEETING ON MONDAY. I THINK THAT HAS TO BE APPROVED FROM NOT MISTAKEN. SO WE ARE SEEKING APPROVAL FOR THAT AS WELL. BUT RIGHT NOW THAT'S REALLY ALL WE NEED FROM THE COMMITTEE OR FROM THE COMMISSION MR. SCHIRMER, DOES THAT REQUIRE APPROVAL OF MLK WALK FROM CITY COUNCIL? AND IT WOULD, UM, WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE TO PLAN IT AS AN EVENT FOR, YOU KNOW, TRAFFIC RELATED ISSUES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I THINK IT WOULD BE, UM, UM, PRUDENT THAT IF THESE EVENTS ARE GETTING READY TO GO, PERHAPS A, UM, JUST MAYBE EITHER A SUMMARY OR PERHAPS, UM, UM, UH, YOLANDA, WE, WE COULD GET YOU SCHEDULED, UH, FOR MONDAY'S MEETING, UH, UNDER INITIAL PRESENTATION, JUST TO GIVE AN UPDATE OF SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT ARE PLANNED SO THAT IT'S AT LEAST SHARED WITH COUNCIL. I'M NOT SURE IF PERMISSION WOULD BE THE RIGHT WORD, BUT I THINK JUST MAKING SURE THAT COUNCIL WAS MADE AWARE AND WHAT EVENTS ARE BEING PLANNED OR FORMERLY SHARED, UM, YOU KNOW, TO AND THROUGH COUNCIL. UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO DO IF, UM, OR IF, IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT, UH, MAYBE SUBMIT SOMETHING IN WRITING AND THEN I CAN, UH, READ IT OUT AND PROVIDE THAT DURING THE, UH, INITIAL CITY MANAGER'S REPORT EITHER WAY. BUT I THINK, I THINK AN UPDATE TO COUNCIL, UM, SO THAT WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, THAT DOWN THE ROAD, SO THAT ANY CITY RESOURCES WE NEED TO PLAN FOR, WE CAN, UH, WE CAN DO THE PLAN FOR AND ACCOMMODATE, OKAY. [01:15:01] I WILL BE THERE. OKAY. I NEED THE LIVE LINK FOR THAT TO BE ABLE TO TALK. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. WELL, UH, W WE'LL GET YOU THERE, SO I'LL MAKE SURE TO TELL TONY TO ADD THAT TO THE AGENDA WHEN IT GOES OUT AND WE'LL, WE'LL GO FROM THERE. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. DO WE NEED A, A FORMAL, UM, A NOTE IN OUR MINUTES REGARDING THESE EVENTS, SO THAT THEY'RE RECORDED IN THE MINUTES, THE DATE, I, I THINK IN SOME WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, IT CAN, IT CAN ACCOMMODATE IT THROUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKING THAT ANNOUNCEMENT AT COUNCIL, JUST AS LONG AS LIKE SARAH AND EVERYBODY ELSE IS AWARE SO THAT WE CAN GET THE ANNOUNCEMENT IS COORDINATED, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT INFORMATION. AND SO THIS JUST ALL COORDINATED IN, UM, INACCURATE AND STAGED TO GO OUT WHEN IT GOES OUT AND WHERE IT GOES OUT. UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT ALL THE INFORMATION IS ACCURATE. THAT'S, THAT'S MORE OR LESS THE, THE, THE NEED AND PURPOSE. SO, UM, SO LONG AS WE COULD CAUSE THE PROPERTY TO BE, AS IT MAY BE TALKING ABOUT IN A COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT IF IT'S NOT KIND OF FORMALLY PUT THROUGH THE PROCESS TOWARDS RIGHT CHANNELS, GRAB IT, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET IT ALL IN THE RIGHT SPOT. SO, UM, WHAT YOLANDA'S DOING MONDAY, SHE'LL HAVE ALL THE DATES AND TIMES AND STUFF, I THINK THAT'LL BE ADEQUATE. AND SO WE DON'T NEED TO VOTE ON THIS, MAKING SURE WE DON'T NEED TO VOTE ON THESE THINGS AMONGST THE COMMISSION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET A MAJORITY VOTE AND EVERYBODY'S IN, OH YEAH. I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU, YOU MAY NOT HAVE TO VOTE. UM, IF IT'S VERY OBVIOUS THAT IT'S A CONSENSUS, BUT IF IT'S THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE, UH, OF THE COMMISSION THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE EVENTS THAT YOU WANT TO DO, YOU JUST KIND OF MAKE A NOTIFICATION. SO YEAH, FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSES, UH, FOR THE COMMISSION FOR THE RECORD, IF YOU WANTED TO DO THAT AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE A MOTION TO SET THOSE DATES AND HAVE THAT AS PART OF YOUR RECORD. YES. I'M SORRY. I THOUGHT YOU WERE ASKING FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR COUNCIL'S POINT, BUT YES, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE VERY, UM, VERY DILIGENT TO DO, TO MAKE SURE THAT IN THE RECORD THAT THE COMMISSION DISGUSTED AND THAT IT WAS YOU, THE COMMISSION, ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION WERE IN FAVOR OF DOING THIS EVENT. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MAKE THAT PRESENTATION UP TO COUNCIL. OKAY. SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ADOPT THE, UH, JANUARY 18TH, 20, 21 DATE FOR THEIR MLK UNITY WALK, UM, AND ADD IT TO OUR CALENDAR, UH, WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL, UM, THAT THAT EVENT WILL BE CARRIED FORWARD. WOULD YOU ACCEPT AN AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION? UM, CAN WE INCLUDE BOTH OF THOSE DATES AND GET THEM BOTH DONE AT THE SAME TIME? OKAY. HUBER HEIGHTS FROM FESTIVAL, JUNE 12TH FROM TWO TO SIX THAT I CAN ORDER. YEP. SO, SO DO I NEED TO RESTATE THE MOTION OR RECALL THE MOTION, OR JUST, DO WE WANT, DO WE NEED TO ADD INTO THAT ALSO THE, UM, ESSAY? FANTASTIC. NO, WE DON'T HAVE A DATE FOR THAT, BUT YEAH. OKAY. SO LET ME SEE HOW MY MEMORY WORKS HERE. UM, I'M ALMOST 50. UM, OKAY. SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADAPT, UH, THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES AND OR EVENTS, THE MLK UNITY WALK ON JANUARY 18TH, 2021 FROM 10 TO 1130, THE HUBER HEIGHTS, CULTURAL FESTIVAL, JUNE 12TH, 2021, UH, FROM TWO TO SIX AND IN THE BLACK HISTORY, UH, MONTH ESSAY CONTEST FOR WISE INBORN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, EXCUSE ME, THAT THE RECORD REFLECT MIDDLE SCHOOL. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, ANY OPPOSED? NO OPPOSITIONS. OKAY. IT'S BEEN PROPERLY MOVED AND SECONDED THAT WE ACCEPT THE CALENDAR AS PUT FORTH THE MLK WALK, THE CULTURAL FESTIVAL AND THE BLACK HISTORY ESSAY CONTEST. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, DR. AKINS AND THE OUTREACH COMMITTEE. UH, WE WILL GO WITH ADVOCACY. GOOD EVENING. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU. ALL ADVOCACY MET ON THE 21ST OF DECEMBER. UM, [01:20:01] THE GROUP MEMBERS ARE MYSELF, YOLANDA AND RHONDA. UM, THIS MONTH WE DISCUSSED, UM, KIND OF OUR PRIORITY INITIATIVES. UM, WE WERE GOING TO BE, I'M GOING TO BE MAKING CONTACT WITH THE EDUCATION GROUP, UM, IN DISCUSSION WITH THEIR WEBSITE THAT THEY'RE HOPING OR WEB PAGE HOPING TO BE CREATED. UM, WE'RE HOPING TO, UM, HAVE AT LEAST A SECTION OR A PART OF THAT, UH, THE ALLOCATED FOR, UM, AN AREA FOR CITIZENS TO MAKE COMPLAINTS OR RAISE CONCERNS ANONYMOUSLY OR NOT. UM, I KNOW YOLANDA HAS REACHED OUT TO ROB, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING WITH AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH, UM, EDUCATION ON THEIR SIDE OF THAT TO SEE HOW WE CAN TAG TEAM ON THAT INITIATIVE. UM, WE'RE ALSO DEVELOPING A PROCESS THROUGH ADVOCACY FOR THE KIND OF COMPLAINT RESOLUTION OR AIRING OF COMPLAINTS. UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY JUST IN DRAFT AT THIS POINT, BUT AN OVERALL PROCESS TO BE FOLLOWED, UM, JUST TO ENSURE, UM, CONSISTENCY ACROSS ALL TYPES OF, UM, ISSUES OR, OR ERRANDS OR GRIEVANCES. UM, ANOTHER PRIORITY INITIATIVE THAT WE HAVE DECIDED TO TRY TO START WORKING ON IS GOING TO BE A BIAS, FREE TYPE WORK CERTIFICATION FOR THE BUSINESSES IN HEBREW HEIGHTS. WE HAD DEVELOPED IT MORE AS LIKE A, UM, ANTI DISCRIMINATION, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE MORE OF LIKE A SEAL OR A PROCLAMATION. THEY SIGN SAYING THAT THEY ARE GOING TO PROVIDE BIAS, FREE SERVICES, LITTLE SEALS THERE WAS IN THE WINDOW. UM, AND THEN OTHER THAN THAT, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON, UM, JUST FURTHER DEFINING THE PURPOSE AND THE MISSION OF OUR LITTLE ADVOCACY COMMITTEE. UM, WE ARE KIND OF LOOKING TOWARDS THAT, UM, TABLED, UM, LEGISLATION AND MISSION STATEMENT TO KIND OF DRAW OFF OF THAT NEXT MEETING FOR US WILL BE THE 19TH OF JANUARY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, TARA. ANY QUESTIONS? ANYTHING TO ADD? OKAY. UM, I DO WANT TO ASK, I NEED TO CIRCLE BACK TO OUTREACH BECAUSE I DO WANT TO ADD, I KNOW THAT SOME OF THE COMMITTEES HAD SOME BUDGET ITEMS, UM, THAT THEY HAVE LIGHT OUT. SO IF YOU HAVE THOSE, UM, I'D LIKE TO HEAR THOSE. NOW, IF YOU HAVE LINE ITEMS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, UM, OUT DOES OUTREACH HAVE THERE THERE'S NONE FOR OUTREACH NOW. UM, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WE, WE WANT TO COLLECT DONATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY, SO WE NEED TO GET THAT LETTER DONE. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, NO MONETARY RIGHT NOW. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND, UM, TARA, HOW ABOUT ADVOCACY? I THINK IT'S THE SAME FOR US AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN ON THEIR NEEDS. SO I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYTHING AT THIS TIME TO ADD AS A LINE ITEM. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH EDUCATION. YES. HELLO. GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE HAD A MEETING LAST NIGHT AND WE WENT OVER AGAIN, OUR PRIORITIES AND MISSION FOR THE COMMITTEE, WHICH WAS MENTIONED BRIEFLY DURING LAST MONTH'S COMMISSION MEETING. BUT BASICALLY WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE EDUCATE AND INFORM THE CITY EMPLOYEES OF HOOPER HEIGHTS AS WELL AS RESIDENTS IN TERMS OF CULTURE AND DIVERSITY. AND THROUGH THAT MISSION, OUR MAIN OBJECTIVES ARE TO HAVE QUARTERLY FORUMS AND ALSO ONLINE RESOURCES TO HAVE TOPICS ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. AND AS ALREADY MENTIONED BY THE AVID EXCEED, UM, COMMITTEE CHAIR, WE WANT TO PARTNER UP WITH THE OTHER COMMITTEES AS FAR AS ANY EDUCATIONAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES THAT CAN BE ACCESSIBLE ONLINE THROUGH THE HOOPER HEIGHTS CITY WEBSITE. AND I WILL GO INTO THAT IN MORE DETAIL IN A MINUTE, BUT AS FAR AS THE FORUMS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT FOUR DIFFERENT TOPICS AND THOSE TOPICS THAT WE WANT TO PRESENT AT [01:25:01] FOR 2021, OUR RACIAL SENSITIVITY RACISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE, COVID HOW IT AFFECTS MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND FINALLY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH WITHIN MINORITY BUSINESSES. WE FELT THAT THESE TOPICS ARE VERY PERTINENT DUE TO CURRENT CLIMATE IN, UM, THE COMMUNITY FOR 2021. AND BY NEXT MONTH, MEETING WITH THE COMMISSION I WILL PRESENT ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE ARE CHOSEN QUARTERLY FORUM TOPIC, WHERE WE WANT TO HAVE THE FORUM SOMETIME BEFORE THE END OF MARCH TO MEET OUR GOAL FOR THE FIRST QUARTER. AND IN REGARDS TO THE ONLINE RESOURCE DATABASE ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE, I WANT TO MAKE RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMMISSION TO HAVE CITY MANAGEMENT ALLOWS US TO HAVE A SITE ON THE USEFUL LINKS PAGE. I BELIEVE WHERE WE CAN POST DIFFERENT ARTICLES, WEBSITES, ALL TOPICS, FOCUSING ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE AT THE OTHER COMMITTEES ADVOCACY, OUTREACH EDUCATION EDUCATION, THEY CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION TO US AS FAR AS WHAT TO POST ON THAT, UM, RESOURCE LINKS PAGE. AND THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, UM, WHO SHOULD WE NOTIFY TO CITY MANAGEMENT TO POST THAT INFORMATION, MR. SCHIRMER, UM, WE DIALOGUE ABOUT THOSE VIA EMAIL A LITTLE BIT. WE PROVIDE THAT CLARIFICATION AND EXPLAIN THAT. SO THE COMMISSION MEMBERS, RIGHT, W WHAT WE'VE, WHAT WE FIRST TO DO IS AS I KIND OF, UM, EXCHANGED WITH YOU IS IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT IS THAT THE NEEDS ARE. AND, UM, WE'D HAVE ACTUAL, INSTEAD OF JUST HAVE ACTUAL KIND OF LAYOUT OF WHAT'S NEEDED. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO IS WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT MODIFICATIONS TO ANY ONLINE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE WOULD NEED TO BE DONE, UH, THAT WOULD LIKELY REQUIRE, UM, THE HOST PROVIDER OF THE WEBSITE TO POTENTIALLY MODIFY OR DESIGN THE PAGE, UM, UH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. THEN THE QUESTION GOES ON AS TO WHO DOES, UM, MANAGE AND MONITOR THE, UM, THE, THE INFORMATION AND DATA ON IT. UH, THE WEB, THE WEBSITE CAN BE MANAGED BY US, AND IT IS WITH INFORMATION PUT ON, BUT IT'S JUST GOTTA BE SET UP IN THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT. SO THE QUESTION WOULD BE, UM, WHAT TYPE OF LAYOUT WOULD, WOULD BE NEEDED. SO IF YOU GET THAT INFORMATION TO US, THEN WHAT WE CAN DO IS TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT, UM, WHETHER WE CAN MANIPULATE WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. SOME PART OF THE WEBSITE WE CAN ADD TO THERE'S OTHER PARTS. LIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF THE TERMINOLOGY, BUT KIND OF LIKE THE, THE, THE, THE TEMPLATE PER SE. UH, SO WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WANTED. AND, UM, ONCE WE GET THAT, THEN WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT IT, WHAT IT TAKES, IF IT'S, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IT TAKES A, A RESOURCE, UH, AN EXPENDITURE RESOURCE, UM, TO HAVE A DIFFERENT PAGE DESIGN, I KNOW THAT THAT CAN SOMETIMES COST A COUPLE, FEW, YOU KNOW, A, A THOUSAND DOLLARS OR WHATEVER, THEN WE JUST NEED TO PASS IT THROUGH THE CHANNELS APPROVED AND DONE. SO IT'S KIND OF WHAT YOU HAVE IN MIND IN TERMS OF LAYOUT FIRST, AND THEN WE'LL SEE HOW IT FITS IN. AND IF WE NEED TO GO THAT ROUTE, SO, OKAY. OKAY. I WILL GET WITH THE COMMITTEE TO LAY OUT A TEMPLATE DRAFT, AND I'LL SHARE THAT WITH, UM, MATT AND CHAIR AND, UM, GO FROM THERE. THANK YOU. THAT'D BE GREAT. ALRIGHTY. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND MS. DOOBIE, DID YOU HAVE ANY, UM, EXPENDITURE ITEMS, ANTICIPATED EXPENSES? UM, I DID SHARE WITH TH THIS INFORMATION WITH YOU MAN AND CHAIR, BUT I'LL REITERATE IT FOR THE RECORD. UM, WE PROJECTED AND NOT TO SAY THIS IS GOING TO BE ACCURATE AT ALL, BUT, UM, AT LEAST $8,000. AND THE REASON WHY THAT NUMBER IS THAT HIGH IS WE MAY HAVE SPEAKERS THAT WILL CONDUCT THESE FORUMS WHERE THEY WOULD REQUIRE A FEE. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COVERED THOSE POTENTIAL EXPENDITURES, BUT THOSE OCCUR AND ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR, UM, TRAINING [01:30:01] THAT'S DONE. SO, LIKE I SAID, THIS NUMBER IS A PROJECTION NOT TO SAY THAT IT'S GOING TO BE DEFINITE. OKAY. OKAY, GREAT. AND THAT ALIGNS TO THE, UM, AGAIN, THOSE ARE QUARTERLY FOUR, CORRECT? CORRECT. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU, MS. NEWBIE. AND WE HAVE LASTLY REFORM. YES, GOOD AFTERNOON OR GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. THIS IS THAT ERIC STEVENS, UH, THE, UM, REFORM COMMITTEE HELD ITS UH, LAST MEETING ON 21 DECEMBER. UM, AS I, AS WE MENTIONED LAST, UH, AT LAST MONTH'S MEETING ON THIS WITH TASKS AND WHAT'S CROSSED TO BEGIN IF YOU WANTED TO REQUEST THE DATA THAT THE UBERIZE POLICE DEPARTMENT PROVIDED TO US IN NOVEMBER, I ENDED UP DATA SET THE CITY, UH, PROVIDE THEIR RESPONSES TO HOW THEY WERE SATISFYING THE DATA, UH, DAYTON, NAACP, EIGHT POINT INITIATIVE REGARDING POLICE REFORM. AND GIVEN THAT WE DECIDED TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS EACH OF THE, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS RESPONSES TO EACH OF THE EIGHT POINT INITIATIVES, ALONG WITH SOME OF THE OTHER ARTIFACTS THAT THEY PROVIDED. EXCUSE ME. AND, UH, AND SO WHAT WE DID WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, DURING THAT DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, WE REVIEWED EACH, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE POINTS AND WE GATHERED SOME OF OUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE, UH, FOR THE CITY AND FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND SO AS A RESULT, UH, YOU KNOW, I REACHED OUT TO, UH, MR. SEAN MORONS REQUESTED THAT WE, UH, HAVE A MEETING SO THAT WE CAN SIT DOWN AND, AND HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND AGAIN, ASK SOME QUESTIONS AND, AND, UM, AND SO WE HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, OF KYLE WHERE, WHERE, UH, THE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS AS IT RELATES TO POLICE REFORM. UM, AS IT TIES BACK TO SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT, THAT THE NAACP LAID OUT. SO WE, UH, WE AGREED TO HAVE THAT MEETING SCHEDULED CURRENTLY NOW FOR 20, I'M SORRY, FOR 28, JANUARY AT 11:00 AM, BUT WE'RE GOING TO MEET AT, UH, AT THE, UH, CITY, CITY HALL THERE TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. AND THAT'S, THAT'S ABOUT IT. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. AND REFORM, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU ALL HAD ANY, UM, ANTICIPATED EXPENSES RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? UH, NO, NO. WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANYTHING AT THIS TIME. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE COMMITTEES FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND YOUR DILIGENCE, UM, IN YOUR TIME THAT YOU'RE COMMITTING TO THIS COMMISSION, WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. AND THANK YOU TO THE CITY FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE, UM, IN HELPING US BE HELP HELPING US HELP THEM. OKAY. OKAY. SO THAT'S ALL OF OUR OLD BUSINESS, OUR NEW BUSINESS. WE HAVE THE, UM, MOVIE SERIES, MOVIE AND MUSIC SERIES. AND SO THE SUMMER IS COMING UP PRETTY QUICKLY. UM, AND THE, UM, PARKS AND REC DIRECTOR REACHED OUT TO ME TO ASK ABOUT, UM, ENSURING THAT WE ARE INCLUSIVE IN OUR CHOICES OF VANS THAT WE BRING IN FOR OUR MUSIC SERIES, WHICH IS A SUMMER MUSIC SERIES. UM, WE HAVE BANDS, I THINK THAT MOST OF THEM ARE LOCAL BANDS. UM, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO THEY HAVE ASKED FOR ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR BANDS. SO IF YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, PLEASE SEND THOSE TO ME. UH, ALSO FOR MOVIES THAT ARE INCLUSIVE BECAUSE WE HAVE A SUMMER MOVIE SERIES. SO AGAIN, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF ALL DEMOGRAPHICS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND BEING INCLUSIVE. SO PLEASE SEND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ME. UM, AS SOON AS YOU CAN, I WOULD SAY YOU CAN, YOU CAN THINK OF, YES. W W IS THERE A SPECIFIC FORMAT THAT WE'RE USING FOR THESE MOVIES? LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IS IT SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU HAVE TO ORDER FROM A FILM COMPANY OR GET RIGHTS TO SHOW OR HULU OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. I DO [01:35:01] NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT. UH, DOES ANYONE KNOW KATIE? DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT? OH, I DIDN'T SHARE YOU. YOU DISAPPEARED. OKAY. YOU MOVED AROUND ON MY SCREEN. SO I THOUGHT THAT REGARD IT IS, UH, IT IS, UH, THAT IS, UH, THAT'S UTILIZED FOR THAT SERVICE AND IT DOES THE COST AND THE FEE DOESN'T INCLUDE LICENSING, UH, AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT. RIGHT. SO WE, WE, DON'T JUST, IT'S UNFORTUNATELY, NOT AS SIMPLE AND EASY AS SETTING UP A PROJECTOR AND HOOKING UP NETFLIX, UH, I'M SURE SOMEBODY WOULD COME AFTER US FIRST AND ROYALTIES AND LICENSING FOR THAT. SO, UH, I PUT THE CITY, THE CITY ALSO PAYS ANNUALLY TO A COUPLE OF, UM, UH, CONSORTIUMS AND ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AS CAP IS ONE OF THEM, I CAN'T THINK OF THE OTHER ONE, UH, REGARDING THE PLAYING OF MUSIC AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THAT'S NOT THE MUSIC CENTER, BUT IT'S WHEN WE PLAY MUSIC AT EICHELBERGER OR SOMEBODY DOES A COVER SONG OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE AQUATIC CENTER PLAYING MUSIC THERE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. SO ALL LICENSING IS COVERED AND THAT'S WHY WE UTILIZE A VENDOR TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THAT IS TAKEN CARE OF. THANK YOU. WELL, ANOTHER QUESTION, AND I WANT TO ASK HIM THE QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO, AND THE QUESTION CAME UP, UM, AS THE MATTER OF PROFANITY IN, UH, IN, IN MUSIC AND BEING ABLE TO USE DIFFERENT VENUES, DO WE HAVE A, AN AGREEMENT WITH, UM, WITH THE DIFFERENT BANDS THAT PLAY OR PERFORM THAT THEY WON'T BE ANY PROFANITY? HOW CAN WE GUARANTEE THAT YOU CAN'T? UM, YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS ON, YOU KNOW, IF THE, IF THE PARTICULAR BAND, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS SONGS OR PLAY SONGS THAT, YOU KNOW, HAS CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, LYRICS AWARDS IN IT, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE LICENSED IN DAY, THEY PLANNED PERFORMANCE. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO, WE TRY TO WORK WITH, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE THE MUSIC SERIES AT THE EICHELBERGER, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN REACHING OUT AND BOOKING WITH HIM, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE INDICATE TO THEM THAT IT IS A COMMUNITY FAMILY BASED FORM, AND THAT'S THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF MAKING SURE TO SCREEN THE ACTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE TO, TO KEEP TO THE STANDARDS OF COMMUNITY, BUT IN TERMS OF THINGS LIKE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IN A, UM, IN A MOVIE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, HECK EVEN IN HECK ON REGULAR TV, NOW YOU'RE HEARING WORDS THAT YOU DIDN'T HEAR 10 YEARS AGO. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE MOVIES, EVEN, UNLESS YOU GET RATED ALL OF THEM, I THINK WE'VE HAD A FEW THAT ARE EVEN PG HAS SOME SIGNIFICANT WORDS IN IT. SO, UM, OTHER THAN THAT, I'M, I'M NOT REALLY SURE OTHER THAN JUST NOT HAVING ANY TYPE OF A MOVIE OR ANYTHING THAT WOULD HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING IN IT THAT WOULD JUST BE PART OF THE SCREENING PROCESS, WHICH WE TRY TO DO. YES. I HAVE A QUESTION, KEVIN, WON'T HEAR ME GO AHEAD. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, IS THERE A PARTICULAR DAY DURING THE WEEK THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT DOING THIS LIKE A WEEKEND DAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY. SO THE SERIES GOES THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, AND I THINK MR. SUMMER, THEY GENERALLY ON SATURDAYS FOR THE, UM, THE MOVIES. YEAH. GENERALLY THERE ARE SOME BEAUTIFICATION, UH, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZES AND PUTS THAT SCHEDULE AND, AND WORKS THAT OUT AS WELL AS, UH, JOSH AND SARAH PARKS MEMBERS, UH, UH, KIND OF ESTROGEN IN BOOK FOR THE, UH, THE MUSIC SERIES. THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE ON SATURDAYS OR SUNDAYS. AND, UM, BUT I THINK WE'VE HAD, UH, I THINK WE MIGHT'VE HAD ONE OR TWO MAYBE, UM, IN THE WEEK, UM, AS WE EXPERIMENT WITH SOME DRIVING STUFF AND EVERYTHING, BUT GENERALLY IT'S A WEEK THING GENERALLY AGAIN, ARTS AND BEAUTIFICATION HANDLES, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, HANDLES THE SCHEDULE, UH, IN ALL OF THAT. SO, UM, GENERALLY THEY ARE WEEKEND EVENTS. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS RONDA'S HAND IS UP IN ROB? THIS MAY BE A QUESTION FOR YOU. UM, I KNOW THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT ON THE OTHER COMMISSION, UM, SURVEYING THE COMMUNITY TO KIND OF SEE WHAT BANDS AND WHAT MOVIES MAY BE. THEY WANTED [01:40:01] TO SEE TO SEE IF THERE WAS A SPECIFIC INTEREST. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN DONE, BUT I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE LOOKING TO GET MORE ENGAGEMENT. UM, I COMPLETELY, I COMPLETELY AGREE. AND I THINK IF I RECALL, I BELIEVE SARAH HAS EVEN MENTIONED SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO I KNOW SHE'S GOT, UH, UH, SHE'S GOT HER ATTENTION FOCUSED ON THAT AS WE START TO PLAN OVER THE WINTER FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON. SO, UH, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD POINT TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. AND AS WE DO SOME OF THESE EVEN INFORMAL SURVEYS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, YOU CAN GARNER A WHOLE INFORMATION ON STAFF. TARA, WERE YOU GOING TO SAY SOMETHING? I HONESTLY, I WAS GOING TO ASK, WE WERE BEING ASKED TO BRING RECOMMENDATIONS OR, OR BANDS, OR WE WERE ASKED TO, TO LOOK AT WHAT WAS SCHEDULED OR WHAT WOULD THIS YEAR RECOMMENDATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS. OKAY. GREAT. AMOUNT OF CARE. SORRY. UM, TO PIGGY BACK TO WHAT TARA JUST ASKED, WHAT IS THE DEADLINE THAT YOU HAVE FOR US TO PROVIDE YOU RECOMMENDATIONS? I'M GOING TO SAY NEXT WEEK A WEEK, I'LL SAY A WEEK. OKAY. THAT'S FINE. THAT'S A SUMMARY. YOU WERE SAYING SOMETHING. YEAH, I WAS GOING TO SAY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I KNOW IN SPEAKING WITH JOSH IS, UH, WE WANTED TO SEE IF ANYBODY HAD ANY, UH, ANY KNOWLEDGE OR, OR CONTACTS WITH ANY SPECIFIC, UM, CULTURAL TYPE OF MUSIC, ETHNIC TYPE OF MUSIC. UM, THAT WOULD BE IN SOME OF THE, UM, SOME OF THE SUB COMMUNITIES WITHIN, WITHIN HUBER HEIGHTS. UM, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR SOME, FOR SOME OUTREACH AND SOME, UM, UM, SOME KNOWLEDGE OF, YEAH. AND I THINK MAYBE THAT'S, WE CAN POST THE QUOTE. WE CAN POST THE QUESTION, EVEN ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, WHERE ARE THEY, WHAT ARE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN SEEING? AND I DID SHARE, AT LEAST WE HAVE ONE LOCAL BAND, A SLAVE, AND ONE OF THE MEMBERS ACTUALLY LIVES IN HUBER HEIGHTS. UM, WHICH I THINK JOSH WAS GOING TO CHECK OUT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, ROB? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD GENERATE A NICE FLYER FOR, THAT COULD BE PUT ON THE KIDS BOARD? DO YOU KNOW, MUSIC AND MOVIES SERIES, WHAT'S YOUR TASTES, YOU KNOW, COMMENT TO THE CITY OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT WHERE WE CAN GET PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING DOWN BRENT PIPE TO SEE THAT, AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, CALL THE CITY AND GIVE FEEDBACK OR GO TO THE WEBSITE? YEAH, I THINK IN, UH, I'LL LET SARAH CHIME IN AS, UH, SHE MIGHT PUT TOGETHER THE, UM, UM, THE PARENTS OR THE QUESTIONS OR STUFF WHEN SUE ANNOUNCED THOSE THINGS, UH, THEN YOU KNOW, THE SAME TYPE OF GRAPHIC THAT'S PUT ON WHETHER IT'S FACEBOOK OR THE WEBSITE, WE CAN ALSO FORMAT AND PUT ON THOSE BRAND PIPE BOARDS. UM, SARAH, I KNOW YOU'VE KIND OF DONE THAT BEFORE. I SEE HER. I'M SORRY. I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE STILL ON. OH YEAH, YEAH. UM, YEAH, I MEAN, WE CAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO SOMETHING. UM, IT'S PROBABLY BETTER LEFT KIND OF ON AN INFORMAL BASIS. AND I WOULD PROBABLY COORDINATE THAT SAME EFFORT WITH BOTH, UH, ARTS AND BEAUTIFICATION AND PARKS AND REC. SO THAT, THAT GOES OUT ON ALL THREE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP PAGES AT THE SAME TIME. UM, AGAIN, CAUSE YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S THAT UNITED FRONT THAT EVERYBODY'S ASKING FOR THAT FEEDBACK. CAUSE IF YOU GUYS DO IT THEN A AND B MAY GET A LITTLE TWEAKED. UM, SO YEAH, BUT THAT, THAT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S THAT GOOD PARTNERSHIP, BUT UH, CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO PROVIDE ME THAT INFORMATION, THEN WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT ALL TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY. I'M SORRY. THE OTHER THING THAT I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT IS FOR PEOPLE WHO, WHO MAY NOT HAVE TRANSPORTATION, WHO MAY NOT HAVE THE INTERNET, JUST ENSURING THAT WE'RE GETTING THOSE INFORMATION, THE INFORMATION OUT TO PEOPLE [01:45:01] WHO MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SEE KIDS OR WHO MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET. UM, IF WE COULD UTILIZE MAYBE THE WATER BILL, UM, THE WATER, THE WATER COMPANY INSIDE OF THE BILL, SOMETIMES AS A STUFFER TO ENSURE EVERYBODY GETS A WATER BILL. UM, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO WRITE UP HOARDING, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, COORDINATE THAT EFFORT AND SEE IF THERE'S, UM, SPACE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO I THINK THAT BRINGS UP A QUESTION FOR ME, UM, IN TERMS OF THE, THE WHAT'S THE CORRECT TERM, NOT STUFFINGS IN THE WATERVILLE, BUT YOU KNOW, THE ADDENDUMS TO YOUR WATER BILL, WHAT IS THE, HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE, UM, WHAT THE COMMISSION IS DOING AND LIKE OUR ACTIVITIES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE THROUGH THAT AVENUE? ACTUALLY, THAT'S WHAT WE CALL IT AS A UTILITY STUFFER. UM, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY, THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'VE CALLED IT IN. WE USED TO DO THEM, UH, WE USED TO DO SEVERAL OF THEM. UH, AND IN FACT, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE IMPACT GROUP, AND THEN NOW THEY'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK WITH US AND DOING SOME THINGS, WE'RE GOING TO START TO SEE SOME OF THAT STUFF AGAIN. AND, UM, UH, AND I THINK WHAT IT, WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE IS MAKING SURE THAT THE INFORMATION, THE ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE PASSED UP AND GOT TO SARAH SO THAT SHE CAN COORDINATE FOR WHEN WE DO, UM, UTILITY STUFF WHERE WE CAN'T DO ONE EVERY MONTH, BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME MONTHS THAT OTHER THINGS LIKE CERTAIN REPORTS, THINGS LIKE THAT HAVE TO COME OUT, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S CERTAINLY PLENTY TIMES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MAILINGS OF THOSE BILLS. UH, THE OTHER THING THAT'S IMPORTANT IS WE'LL UNDERSTAND THE CYCLE OF THE BILLS BECAUSE THEY DON'T ALL GO OUT AT ONCE. SO YOU MIGHT LITERALLY HAVE, UM, SOMETHING GO OUT, BUT IF IT'S, IF A NEW ONE IN SUBMITTED, THEN THERE'S GOING TO BE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HADN'T HAD THAT CYCLE OF BILL AND THEY WON'T GET THAT PARTICULAR THING. SO YOU KINDA GOT TO RUN IT IN, I FORGET WHAT THE TIMEFRAME IS, BUT YOU, YOU CAN'T CYCLE ANOTHER ONE IN FOR LIKE WHATEVER AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT YEAH, WE, WE CAN, WE CAN COORDINATE THAT AND THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD NEED TO BE DONE, UM, UH, WOULD, WOULD NEED TO BE, UM, PASSED THROUGH IN, YOU KNOW, YOLANDA, IF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, AFTER THE AFTER MEETINGS OR WHATEVER, JUST, YOU KNOW, TYPE SOMETHING UP AND SEND IT INTO US, UH, THEN WE CAN GET IT TO SARAH AND SHE CAN COORDINATE THE MESSAGING. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. UM, MR. SCHIRMER, I HATE TO CIRCLE BACK ON THIS, BUT WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UM, WE DID NOT TALK ABOUT THE RFQ PROCESS. YEAH, THERE WE, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. SO, UH, WE'VE GOT, UH, WE'VE GOT TOM SPEAKS, UH, IN HIS GROUP, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE THE, UH, THE ENGAGEMENT FOLKS. UH, THEY ARE WELL VERSED IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN, YOU KNOW, CREATING PRIORITIES, GATHERING DATA, DOING THINGS LIKE THAT. SO THERE'LL BE, THERE'LL BE FACILITATING THAT. WE'VE GOT THE RESOURCES ALREADY TO DO THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, UNDERWAY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND YOU'VE HEARD MR. ELEY, UH, HIS EXPERTISE AND, UH, PER COUNCIL'S GUIDANCE TAKING A LOOK AT WHAT RESOURCES WE HAVE LOCALLY. UH, WE'VE GOT SOME EXPERTS IN THE FIELD HERE. SO I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S NECESSARY TO GO OUT AND HAVE A, YOU KNOW, DO ALL THIS WORK AND THEN HAVE A FARM WHERE WE DO IT. UH, I THINK THAT WE'VE GOT PEOPLE THAT ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, UH, HAVE COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND CONTACTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE DO IT. SO, UM, YEAH, W THAT PART OF IT'S DONE WE'VE, WE'VE GOT THE RESOURCES PUT IN PLACE. AND AS I SAID EARLIER TODAY, WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN TAKING ACTION. UH, TOM'S ALREADY STARTING TO FORMULATE A PLAN TO START THAT, THAT FIRST STEP OF, OF, UH, DEFINING THE SCOPE OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND BEGIN THE PROCESS OF DATA GATHERING. AND THAT'S WHY WE, WE BROUGHT IN INTRODUCED MR. HALEY WITH HIS EXPANSIVE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE AS WELL. SO, UM, I THINK WE'VE GOT THAT ALL IN PLACE. AND LIKE I SAID, WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE HIT THE LAUNCH BUTTON, SO WE'RE, UH, WE'RE READY TO GO. OKAY. I GUESS I WAS CONFUSED ON THAT. MY UNDERSTANDING WAS HE WAS JUST PROVIDING INFORMATION ON HIS IN THE LAST MONTH, IS THAT WE DEVELOP FOR RFQ MORE IMPORTANTLY, JUST LIKE MR. HALEY SAID, IT'S NOT REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, HE EVEN SEES THAT THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE PROCESS, THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS OF AN RFQ, IT IS WHAT IT IS IT'S ALREADY SET AND ESTABLISHED. UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KNOW [01:50:01] WHAT, WHAT THOSE, WHAT THOSE PROCESSES ARE, AND THAT IS WHAT IT IS, WHAT THE CRITICAL AND CRUCIAL PART IS, IS WHAT INFORMATION AND WHAT IS THE, WHAT, WHAT IS THE CHARTER IN THE MAP FOR THE ACTUAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT ITSELF? WHO DOES IT, UM, YOU KNOW, TH THERE'S THERE THERE'S, THERE'S MANY, MANY AVENUES OF SKILLS TO DO IT. THE IMPORTANT THING THAT THIS COMMISSION IS THAT ITS VALUE TO, TO HAVE ITS INPUT IN IS NOT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES OF DOING AN RFP AND STUFF LIKE THAT. IT'S OKAY. NOW WE'VE GOT THE RESOURCES, WHAT INFORMATION, AND WHAT IS THE PATH IN THAT CHARTER, UH, AND THAT ROADMAP OF WHAT THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT LOOKS LIKE. THAT'S, UM, THAT'S WHERE, UH, THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO ROLL YOUR SLEEVES UP AND, AND, UM, AND REALLY, REALLY GET THIS GOING. OKAY. I, I UNDERSTAND, I THINK, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE COMMISSION VOTES ON? UM, BECAUSE THE, AS I SAID, THE LAST DANCE WAS THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT REQUESTS FOR QUALIFICATIONS, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THERE ARE NOT ON THESE ASSESSMENTS ARE CONDUCTED THE SAME. I THINK IT DEPENDS ON, AGAIN, THE TARGETED INFORMATION, UM, HOW VERSED THE AGENCY IS IN DEALING WITH THE SENSITIVE ISSUES OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. UM, THOSE ARE ALL FACTORS THAT HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN YOU'RE DOING, UM, A NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT'S TARGETED, LIKE WE'RE ANTICIPATING DOING, LIKE WE WILL BE DOING, I PERSONALLY, UM, I'M NOT, I AM MORE COMFORTABLE WITH DOING AN RFQ, SO I KNOW WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE. UM, SO THAT WE OPEN IT UP TO OTHER ENTITIES AGENCIES THAT MAY BE WELL-VERSED IN THIS AS WELL, SO THAT WE CAN SEE WHAT THOSE QUALIFICATIONS ARE, SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD, YOU KNOW, IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE AND GET THE BEST DATA THAT WE CAN. THAT'S A GOOD, GOOD POINT. AND WE WERE CHARGED WITH TAKING SOME ACTIONS. SO WE HAVE, AND WE'VE GOT SOME RESOURCES IN PLACE, UH, AND READY TO GET THIS GOING. SO, UH, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING THE, THE BOOS AND ALL THAT, WE'VE, UH, WE'VE ASSEMBLED THE, UM, UH, THE RESOURCES, UH, COMPETENT RESOURCES THAT ARE, THAT ARE EXPERIENCED AND THAT WE FEEL, YOU KNOW, QUALIFIED AND I THINK WAS DEMONSTRATED TONIGHT. AND, UH, REALLY THE RFP PROCESS REALLY WOULDN'T BE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE COMMISSION ANYWAY, UH, THAT THAT REALLY WOULDN'T BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THINGS. UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE HANDLED, UH, CONDUCTED, YOU KNOW, W WITH SUBMIT, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF NEEDED, UH, THE, THE, THE TRUE REAL NITTY GRITTY AND WHERE WE THINK THAT THE TIME IS BEST SPENT, UH, NOW IS REALLY GETTING INTO THE, UH, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. NOW THAT WE'VE GOT THE RESOURCES DEDICATED, UH, AND SOME, SOME LOCAL AND REGIONAL EXPERTISE IN DOING SO. SO WE'RE EXCITED FOR IT. OKAY, THAT'S FINE. I UNDERSTAND. I REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT POINT. UM, BUT AGAIN, WE, I HAVE TO, THIS COMMISSION NEEDS TO BE CERTAIN THAT WE ARE GETTING THE BEST, MOST QUALIFIED ENTITY BUSINESS ORGANIZATION TO HANDLE A DIVERSITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT. AND AT NO POINT, YOU KNOW, I AM IN THE BUSINESS OF HIRING CONSULTANTS. I AM A CONSULTANT MYSELF, BUT I DO NOT EVER, UH, I DON'T WANT PEOPLE GOING OUT AND HIRING SOMEONE. I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT MULTIPLE OPTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE PICKED THE BEST OPTION TO MEET THE SPECIFIC NEEDS THAT YOU HAVE AT THAT TIME. TO ME, THAT'S JUST DUE DILIGENCE. SO HOW DO WE MAKE THAT HAPPEN? I THINK THAT WE DEMONSTRATED, UH, TONIGHT, AND I THINK THAT DUE DILIGENCE IS GOING TO COME THROUGH MAKING SURE THAT THE, UH, THE COMMISSION ARE APPOINTED, UH, LOCALIZED COMMUNITY EXPERTS ON, UH, INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY AND ALL THINGS RELATED TO THAT ARE GOING TO BE CERTAINLY CRITICAL KEY COMPONENTS AND, UH, DEVELOPERS OF, OF HOW THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS GOING TO GO. THE REST OF THE RESOURCES USED ARE MERELY FACILITATORS OF THE DIRECTION, UH, THAT THAT'S THAT'S GIVEN AND, AND, AND SOUGHT FROM, FROM THE COMMISSION. SO, UM, I THINK THAT MORE THAN AMPLY DEFINES, UH, YOU KNOW, THE LEVEL OF EXPERTISE YOU ARE, THE CULTURE AND DIVERSITY CITIZEN ACTION COMMISSION, YOU ARE THE, UM, YOU KNOW, LOCALIZED EXPERTS THAT ARE BEST KNOWN WHAT IS GOOD, UH, AND HOW TO CAPITALIZE REACHING OUT TO THIS COMMUNITY. AND WE'RE GOING TO UTILIZE THAT AS A CRITICAL RESOURCE AND COMPONENT. THE REST OF IT IS A, IS A LEVEL OF EXPERTISE TO GATHER DATA, TO IDENTIFY THOSE KEY IMPORTANT PRIORITIES AND GET THEM INTO A WRITTEN AND DOCUMENTED FORM ALL THE WHILE, GETTING THE INPUT AND RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE AND OTHER RESOURCES. [01:55:01] SO I THINK THAT ALL IN ALL IS VERY WELL VERSED IN ESTABLISHING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DILIGENCE OF MAKING SURE IT HAPPENS. THEN AT SOME POINT IN TIME, YOU'VE GOT TO SAY, WELL, THERE'S, THERE'S A TIME AND A NEED, AND THE TIME IS NOW AND BE ACTION BIASED. AND WE'VE GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THOSE RESOURCES AND PUT IT INTO AN ACTION. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE DONE. UH, YOU KNOW, WE EITHER DECIDE THAT IT IS A PRIORITY TO GET GOING, OR IT IS A PRIORITY TO, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, EXTEND AND ENHANCE PROCESSES TO DOUBLE CHECK AND MAKE SURE YOU'VE GOT SOME TIMES TO JUST SAY, HEY, I TRUST WHAT WE'VE GOT AND, UH, WE'RE DOING GOOD. SO LET'S, LET'S TAKE THOSE RESOURCES. LET'S TRUST THOSE RESOURCES, UH, AND TRUST THAT WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER, GET IT GOING. SO THAT'S, THAT'S A SITUATION WE FIND OURSELVES IN. AND AS I SAID, I THINK, UM, BEING A COMMUNITY, THAT'S TAKING IT VERY SERIOUS. UH, AND AS A MISTER, EVEN AS EVEN MR. ELEY INDICATED, I THINK ONE OF THE ONLY COMMUNITIES, UH, IN THE REGION THAT HAS TAKEN A STEP TO INITIATE IT AND PUT RESOURCES FORWARD. UM, I THINK TIME IS, UM, NOT ON OUR SIDE FOR THINGS LIKE THAT, BECAUSE THE LONGER THAT YOU TALK ABOUT DOING SOMETHING, THE LESS IMPORTANT IT BECOMES, YOU'VE GOT TO, YOU'VE GOT TO GET GOING, YOU'VE GOT TO BE ACTION BIASED. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THE MINDSET THAT WE TOOK. UH, WE'RE VERY CONFIDENT AND COMPETENT IN THE RESOURCES THAT WE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THE INPUT OF THE COMMISSION. AND, UM, I THINK IT'S TIME TO START LOOKING TOWARDS DEVELOPING THOSE, UH, THOSE SCOPES AND THAT CHARTER AND THAT ROADMAP. OKAY. I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I'M STILL AT THE SAME POINT THAT THIS COMMISSION WAS FORMULATED. OUR FIRST MEETING WAS IN SEPTEMBER. SO TODAY, I DON'T KNOW. UM, I, I WANT, I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT THE ISSUE OF DIVERSITY, RACE AND INCLUSION IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY. WE ALL KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL IN WHAT WE DO. I'M NOT COMFORTABLE WITH US LEAPING WITHOUT ASSESSING FIRST AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT COMPANY ON BOARD TO MEET THESE NEEDS. NOW, THE CITY DEVELOPED THE DIVERSITY CULTURE AND DIVERSITY CITIZENS ACTUALLY COMMISSION AS A COMMISSION TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY. SO HERE'S THE RECOMMENDATION. THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO PUT OUT A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS, BECAUSE WE NEED TO LOOK AT ADDITIONAL ENTITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT PERSON ON BOARD, THE RIGHT COMPANY ON BOARD. MY FIRST QUESTION, AS A DIVERSITY, A DEI SPECIALIST WOULD BE, WHAT DOES THAT FIRMS LOOK LIKE? ARE THERE ANY MINORITIES IN THAT BAR? WHO'S GOING TO HANDLE THE FOCUS GROUPS, TO BE HONEST, AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN IS NOT GOING TO TALK TO A CAUCASIAN INTERVIEWER. LIKE THEY WOULD A MINORITY OR BLACK INTERVIEWER THAT MAYBE WE'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT BECAUSE RESPECTFULLY IT'S NOT YOUR LENS. OKAY. WE SEE THINGS THROUGH OUR LENS OF THIS COMMISSION'S ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY IS TO EXPAND OUR COMMUNITY'S LAND SO THAT WE CAN SEE THINGS FROM THE MINORITY PERSPECTIVE, FROM THE BLACK PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE THIS COMMISSION CAME ABOUT, BECAUSE HONESTLY, I WANTED TO PROTECT MY BLACK CHILD, MY BLACK SPOT. THAT'S WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT. AND EVERY OTHER BLACK KIDS OUT THERE, THAT'S BEING GUNNED DOWN IN THE STREETS. NOW I RESPECTFULLY ACT IN THE CITY THAT WE OPENED THIS UP FOR A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS, BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW WHAT BLACK MALE IS GOING TO GIVE A WHITE INTERVIEWER, AN HONEST ANSWER TO HIS QUESTION. WELL, HE FELT THREATENED BY THAT WHITE INTERVIEWER. NOW I'M SPEAKING FROM MY LENS. THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE. YOU WANT IT. THE COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCED THIS COMMISSION THAT THAT'S WHY THIS COMMISSION IS HERE, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUR COMMUNITY. YOU'RE HEARING FROM THE COMMISSION, WHICH IS PART OF THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW. AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT ANY PERSON THAT'S A PART OF THIS COMMISSION WOULD DISAGREE WITH WHAT I'M SAYING. WELL, I, I WOULD OFFER THAT, UH, IF THE COMMISSION IS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE, UH, WITH WHAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED, HAD DONE, THEN THE COMMISSION CAN, UM, EITHER NOT PARTICIPATE AND THE COMMISSION CAN, [02:00:01] UH, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY SPEAK ITS VOICE AND, UH, AND INDICATE THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, WE CERTAINLY APOLOGIZE FOR NOT MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS OR NEEDS OF THE COMMISSION, UH, BRINGING TOGETHER, UM, YOU KNOW, A LEVEL OF ENTHUSIASM AND EXCITEMENT, UTILIZING RESOURCES THAT WE FEEL ARE VERY COMPETENT, THAT WE'VE HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH. AND, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD, I WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, UH, YOU INDICATING THAT, AND I WILL, UH, REPORT THAT BACK TO COUNCIL AND, UM, WE WILL GO FROM THERE. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE THE COMMISSION TO ALSO CONSIDER THE FACT THAT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE GREAT USE OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT YOU HEARD FROM AND SEEM TO GIVE GREAT FEEDBACK AND SUPPORT US. SO IF, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S THE CASE, WELL, THEN YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S FINE. WE CAN, UH, WE CAN JUST CHOOSE NOT TO UTILIZE THOSE. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I I'D BE INTERESTED TO ALSO FIND OUT WHAT MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE INTERESTED IN MOVING FORWARD AND WHICH ONES ARE NOT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. UH, JUST TO BE CLEAR. UM, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE NEEDS OF THE COMMISSION. I'M TALKING NOT JUST AS A PERMISSION NUMBER. I'M TALKING AS A RESIDENT, AS A RESIDENT WHO CAME TO THE CITY AND RAISED HER HAND AND SAID, I DON'T WANT MY SON DIE IN INDUSTRY LIKE DOORS, BOY. OH YEAH, NO, NOBODY DOESN'T THINK, THANK GOODNESS OUR COMMUNITY STILL, UM, YOU KNOW, IT KEEPS, KEEPS ITSELF AS A, UH, VERY CONCERNING, COMPASSIONATE AND LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER COMMUNITY, WHICH IS WHAT IT TAKES. YOU KNOW, IT TAKES MORE THAN JUST A CITY GOVERNMENT TO MAKE A COMMUNITY. IN FACT, IN MY OPINION, WE'RE A VERY SMALL PART. IT'S TRULY ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ABSOLUTELY THAT IS A DYER AND I'M MOST CONCERNED OF EVERYBODY. TRUE. I DON'T HAVE THE SAME LENS THAT YOU DO, BUT I DO HAVE A LENS AND, YOU KNOW, MY LOVE, AND I APPRECIATE THE RESPECT AND APPRECIATE, AND THAT'S WHAT, I'M SORRY, YOU'RE BREAKING UP REALLY BAD. YEAH. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMEBODY HAS GOT A SPEAKER UP AND THERE WE GO. THAT SOUNDS BETTER. AND AS FAR AS THE, UH, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT GOES, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I, I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE WAS ANY INDICATION THAT THERE WAS JUST GOING TO BE, UM, PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT COLORS INTERVIEWING, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE MR. SPEAKS, YOU KNOW, IS, IS A CAUCASIAN MALE DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERY MEMBER OF HIS TEAM IS, AND, OR EVERY MEMBER THAT WOULD, WOULD BE. AND I THINK THAT AS FAR AS INTERVIEWS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, THAT'S EXACTLY THE TYPE OF STUFF THAT WE WERE HURTING FOR EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES OF YOU AND MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION FOR. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE APPROACH TO THIS WAS TO HAVE THE COMMISSION BE GREATLY INVOLVED IN THIS AND, UM, NOT NECESSARILY ACTING AS THE FIRM ITSELF, BUT BE THE ONES THAT ARE HELPING, UH, YOU KNOW, DO A LOT OF THE, THE GUIDANCE IN THE WORK. SO IF THAT APPROACH IS NOT THE APPROACH, UM, THAT WE THINK IS GOING TO WORK. AND TO YOUR POINT, THAT IS WHY YOU WERE FORMED IS TO HAVE YOU REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGE IN, AS YOU HEARD FROM BOTH SPEAKERS TONIGHT, UTILIZING MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION TO REACH INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE COMMUNITY, TO MAKE SURE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, YOU ARE THE ONES WE WANT TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND ASK THOSE QUESTIONS AND THOSE INTERVIEWS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS, MAYBE THAT WAS A, UH, ASSUMPTION OR MISINTERPRETATION THAT THE, THE ONE CAUCASIAN MALE THAT WAS ON THE SCREEN TONIGHT IS THE ONLY ONE THAT'S GOING TO BE TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT DIVERSITY. WELL, AND THAT'S PART OF THE ISSUE IS I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'S PROPOSING. I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. THERE'S NOTHING WRITTEN, DOCUMENTED, NO PROPOSAL, NO PROCESS, NO ANYTHING. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DECIDE ON HIRING AN ENTITY WHEN YOU DON'T REALLY SPECIFICALLY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE PROVIDING. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE OF THEIR EMPLOYEE BASE. AND, UM, I KNOW THAT THE COMMISSION ALSO HAS, THEY HAVE FULL-TIME JOBS ALSO. SO I THINK IF WE HIRE AN ENTITY TO DO THIS, THEN THAT'S THEIR PRIMARY ROLE. NOW WE CAN ASSIST, BUT I DON'T SEE US, UM, BEING DEPENDENT AND WE'RE PAYING SOMEONE. SO, SO THAT BECOMES PART OF THE ISSUE IS I DON'T KNOW WHO HE HAS INTERVIEWING. SO I CAN'T HIRE SOMEONE. HOW DOES THE CITY HIRE SOMEONE WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHAT THEY'RE OFFERING? AND THE OTHER ISSUE BECOMES AT THIS COMMISSION IS WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, THIS LOOKING AT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MAKING SURE [02:05:01] THAT WE HAD MINORITY BUSINESSES, REPRESENTATIVES THAT WERE REPRESENTED THAT WERE GIVING CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES TO MINORITY BUSINESSES. AND ONCE AGAIN, HERE WE ARE, WE HAVEN'T EVEN OPENED IT UP. THERE MAY BE MINORITY BUSINESSES THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE OUT THERE WHO ARE WELL-VERSED IN THIS AGAIN, WE DON'T KNOW UNTIL WE BEGIN TO DEVELOP THE PROCESS AND WE ARE AWARE OF THE ABILITIES AND SKILLS, UH, WE ARE AWARE OF THE WORK PRODUCT AND THE TASK AT HAND, THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DATA OF THE COMMUNITY, THE KNOWLEDGE OF THAT. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY WE WERE UTILIZING THE RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT GOING. IF THE ALL-IN-ALL AND OUT DECISION, UH, AS WE GET INTO THIS, IS THAT THERE'S ADDITIONAL RESOURCES NEEDED OR AN ADDITIONAL FORM NEEDED. WE CAN ALWAYS MAKE THAT DECISION, BUT I, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, I'LL SPEAK FROM, FROM THE CITY ADMINISTRATION POINT OF VIEW. UH, AND AS THE CITY MANAGER, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT IT WOULDN'T BE PRUDENT TO NOT UTILIZE A RESOURCE THAT IS, UM, QUALIFIED, READY, WILLING, AND ABLE, UM, TO AT LEAST GET, GET US MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. UM, AND AGAIN, IF WE FIND THAT IT'S NOT A FIT AND WE HAVE OTHER RESOURCES THAT WE NEED, THEN WE WOULD GO AFTER THOSE. SO I, I, UM, YOU KNOW, I, WE ARE, WE ARE FINDING EITHER WAY, OUR OBJECTIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM COUNCIL WAS TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE CAN UTILIZE. UM, IF YOU RECALL, OR IF YOU'VE SEEN HER OR LISTENED TO THAT, TO THAT MEETING. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE DONE. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'M THE CITY MAYOR DRIVE WORK FOR CITY COUNCIL AND I DON'T WORK FOR THIS COMMISSION. I WORK FOR CITY COUNCIL, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TAKE OUR DIRECTION FROM THEM AND WE UTILIZE OUR RESOURCES AND OUR STAFF TIME TO MEET AND FOLLOW THOSE OBJECTIVES. SO WE WILL GLADLY PASS THAT INFORMATION AND CONCERN EITHER IT'S FROM YOU AS A RESIDENT, OR IF IT'S FROM THIS ENTIRE COMMISSION, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN ALL, IN ALL, WE'VE GOT TO COME TO A POINT IN TIME THAT AT FIRST WE'VE GOT AT LEAST TRUST WHAT WE'VE GOT, THAT THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT ISN'T CORRECT OR ISN'T WRONG, UM, THAT WE'VE GOT SOME LEGITIMATE RESOURCES THAT WE CAN PUT TOWARDS THIS. AND IF WE WANT TO UTILIZE THOSE AND GET STARTED FINE, IF, UH, IF NOT, WELL, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CERTAINLY, UH, GO OUT AND TRY TO IDENTIFY. AND, AND I DO APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE, THE IDEA OF GOING OUT AND, AND FINDING ALTERNATIVE THINGS AND METHODS. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ANYTHING FROM THE FIRE CHIEF POSITION TO ALL THESE, THESE OTHER THINGS. AND THAT COMES WITH UNDERTONES OF, OF SOME INSINUATIONS. I KNOW, CAUSE I'VE, I'VE HEARD THEM AND BEEN SUBJECTED TO THEM AND THAT A COUPLE OF MEETINGS NOW, BUT THE, THE, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, IS THAT WE DO WORK DILIGENTLY, UH, COUNSEL, OUR COUNSEL IS IN FACT, THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CONSTITUENTS OF ALL THE COMMUNITY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DIRECTION OF THE ADMINISTRATION, UH, YOU KNOW, COMES IN POLICY IS SET THROUGH THEM. AND AT THAT LAST MEETING, IT WAS ASKED THAT WE CONTACT, UM, YOU KNOW, REGIONAL RESOURCES AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO. UM, NOT NECESSARILY ALL INTERNALLY, BUT WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE. AND IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT, THEN WE WOULD TAKE A LOOK AND SEE. SO WE WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE IF WE CAN ACCOMPLISH IT WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT. AND IF NOT, THEN WE LOOK AT, UH, THE, THE POTENTIAL OF, OF HIRING AN AFFIRM AND CONDUCTING THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT CERTAINLY BACKS THE TIMELINE UP, UH, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANTLY. AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT A FAN OF RUSHING ANYTHING OR JUMPING INTO SOMETHING, BECAUSE THEN YOU REDUCE THE QUALITY. UM, AND THAT'S, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'VE GOT, UH, SOMEBODY LIKE MR. ELEY, UH, IN HIS PAST RESOURCES THAT, THAT, THAT SEEMS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, ACCESSIBLE, UH, WILLING AND EAGER. ALTHOUGH HE SAID THAT THEY CAN'T BE NECESSARILY THE, UH, HIRED OUT FOR THEM, BUT THEY CERTAINLY CAN GET SALT AND, AND, AND HELP US GET GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SO, UM, YEAH, I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO, UH, UM, TAKE BACK ANY RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMISSION, UH, TO COUNCIL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, RESPOND BACK TO COUNCIL THAT EVEN THOUGH THEIR DIRECTION WAS SAID, HERE WAS THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FROM THE COMMITTEE, UH, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, YOLANDA, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR. AND IF THE COMMISSION IS, UM, IS RECOMMENDING NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE'VE GOT, UH, BE, BE HAPPY TO HEAR THAT AND TAKE THAT BACK. YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF HANDS [02:10:01] UP. I WILL, I WILL SAY TO BE CLEAR, I AM NOT SAYING THAT I DID NOT WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES. I'M PUTTING IT AT LEAST SAYING THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE MOST PART, DEFINE IT. THEY BECOME THE MOST QUALIFIED RESOURCE. THEY SEND A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND SO BE BAD. HOWEVER, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WORK. SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY, THAT IS MY POINT. AND, AND AGAIN, WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, EXPANDING OPTIONS, BEING INCLUSIVE. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW INCLUSIVE WE ARE WHEN WE'RE SHUTTING DOWN OPTIONS TO OTHER PEOPLE OR OTHER ENTITIES, NOT EVEN OFFERING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, TO SPEAK UP ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN OFFER IN TERMS OF THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT. THAT'S NOT INCLUSIVITY TO ME. AND SO THE REASON WHY I'M A PART OF THE MISSION, BECAUSE I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IS INCLUDED, EVERYONE IS, HAS AN OPPORTUNITY. AND THAT'S WHAT INCLUSIVITY IS ABOUT. AND I SAY IT ALL THE TIME. YEAH. IF YOU GO HIGHEST, WE ARE DIVERSE. WE ARE A DIVERSE COMMUNITY, BUT WHEN WE REALLY NEED TO CHECK OURSELVES ON IS HOW INCLUSIVE ARE WE? ARE WE INVOLVING EVERYBODY IN THE PROCESS? WE ALLOW EVERYBODY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. ARE WE ALLOWING EVERYBODY AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED? THIS PRACTICE TO ME IS NOT ALLOWING THAT IT'S NOT GETTING IN WHAT ELSE? AN OPTION. SO I, I THINK WHY THIS HAND WAS UP, UM, AND THEN THE WHOLE MOVE TO TARA, AND THEN I BELIEVE THEIR TEAM. AWESOME. YEAH. UM, ROB, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I THINK, AND I'M LITERALLY OVER HERE, LIGHTWEIGHT SHAKING, BUT I JUST WANT TO BE VERY TRANSPARENT. THIS IS THE SAME EXPERIENCE THAT I, AS AN AFRICAN, A WOMAN AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN HAVE AND HAVE HAD IN JOB SETTINGS AT BOARD MEETINGS. WHEN I, AS A MINORITY AND TALKING TO, UM, MY WHITE COUNTERPARTS, AND THEY'RE NOT HEARING THEY'RE HEARING, BUT THEY'RE NOT LISTENING. AND I THINK THAT WHAT YOLANDA IS SAYING IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. WE NEED AN RFQ PROCESS. THAT'S OPEN TO WHOMEVER IS MOST QUALIFIED. YOU KNOW, JUST CHOOSING A CONSULTING COMPANY ON THE BASIS OF YOUR EXPERIENCE. WE DON'T KNOW THEIR EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE NOT LOOKED AT THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR LEADERSHIP TEAM. WE DON'T KNOW WHO THEIR INTERVIEWERS ARE, SO WE NEED TO BE OPEN AND TRANSPARENT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TELLING THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE GONNA DO. WE'RE BEING OPEN AND TRANSPARENT. AND WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO MORE THAN ANYTHING IS NOT THINK THAT WE DON'T APPRECIATE THESE RESOURCES. THAT'S NOT IT. BUT WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO IS LISTEN TO WHAT SHE'S SAYING. IF WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT US BEING OPEN AND TRANSPARENT, WE HAVE TO MODEL THAT BEHAVIOR FROM THE TOP DOWN. I THINK TOM SPEAKS IS AWESOME. I THINK EYLEA IS AWESOME, BUT THEY MAY NOT BE THE MOST QUALIFIED CONSULTANTS FOR THE JOB THAT WE NEED TO HAVE DONE. DOES THAT MEAN WE WON'T USE THEM IN THE FUTURE FOR SOMETHING IT DOESN'T, AND IT MAY NOT BE, THEY MAY BE THE MOST QUALIFIED, BUT WE NEED TO OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY TO EVERYBODY. AND MORE THAN ANYTHING, YOU NEED THE BUY-IN FROM THIS COMMISSION, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE CHARTER CALLS FOR. YOU KNOW, YOU NEED A MAJORITY VOTE FROM US AS COMMISSIONERS AND YOU, YOU GUYS CHOSE US OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE YOU BELIEVED IN THE JOB THAT WE COULD DO. AND SO IT KIND OF FEELS LIKE WE'RE DOING ALL THIS WORK. YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAVING THESE, THESE MEETINGS, WE'RE PULLING THESE RESOURCES TOGETHER FOR THE CITY TO TAKE IT WITHOUT GIVING ANY VALIDATION TO WHAT WE'RE SAYING. AND ONCE AGAIN, THAT GOES BACK TO THOSE SYSTEMIC ISSUES WHERE PEOPLE'S VOICES ARE NOT HEARD. AND THAT'S THE VERY REASON WHY THIS COMMISSION WAS ESTABLISHED. SO IF WE'RE MODELING TO THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET PAST THESE TYPES OF ISSUES, [02:15:01] WE HAVE TO DO IT FROM THE TOP DOWN. AND I KNOW YOU'RE A FAIR PERSON. I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE THE CITY MANAGER. AND ULTIMATELY YOU MAKE THE FINAL DECISION, BUT I'M JUST ASKING FOR YOU TO BE FAIR, AND TO JUST CONSIDER THE MESSAGE THAT WE PUT IN THAT LEGISLATION THAT WENT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. WE NEED TO STAND BY THAT. WE NEED TO MODEL WHAT WE SAID. SO THAT'S HOW I HAVE TO SAY THANKS, MR. . I JUST HAD A QUICK CLARIFICATION QUESTION FOR THESE PROCESSES, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE THAT AS A COMMISSION, WE DID ASK COUNCIL TO START ALLOCATING CAR CONSULTANTS FOR THIS. I KNOW THAT WE HAD STARTED THE CONVERSATION. IS THE PROCESS GOING TO BE BASED OFF OF THE REVIEW OF OUR VIDEOS, THAT COUNSEL IS THEN TAKING ACTION, OR WHAT IS THE NORMAL PROCESS HERE? BECAUSE I JUST AM, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I AGREE THAT THEY BOTH PRESENTED WONDERFUL PRESENTATIONS AND THEY VERY WELL MAY DO THE JOB WE ARE ASKING, BUT I CAME TO THIS MEETING TONIGHT. I DIDN'T REALIZE THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN HIRED AND TASKED WITH THIS JOB. AND AS A COMMISSION, I DON'T KNOW IF WE ASKED FOR THAT. SO WHAT WOULD THE PROCESS BE? SHOULD WE NOT BE TAKING THESE REQUESTS TO COUNSEL OURSELVES? WE HAVE NOT BEEN IN FRONT OF COUNCIL YET TO MAKE A FORMAL REQUEST, RIGHT? SO THE WAY THAT THIS HAD HAPPENED, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, IS THIS TOPIC WAS BROUGHT UP PRETTY MUCH FROM THE ONSET REGARDING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. IT'S, UH, BEEN A COMMONLY REFERRED TO DESIRE AND REQUEST, AND WAS STATED MANY TIMES THAT BEFORE WE CAN DO OTHER THINGS, WE NEED TO FIRST DO A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COMMISSION HAS GONE IN A COUPLE OF DIRECTIONS AND ALWAYS COMES BACK TO, WELL, WE NEED THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. SO, AND KATIE IS, YOU KNOW, HERE IN THE MEETINGS AND HERE'S THAT INFORMATION AND TAKES THAT TALK. AND WHEN THAT DISCUSSION IS, THEN THAT IS PART OF THE JOB OF THE LIAISON AND THE COUNCIL. IF SOME, A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION, ISN'T GOING TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO SCHEDULE, TO GET, UH, TO SPEAK TO COUNSEL, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DO THROUGH MINUTES AND REPORTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT. SO RECOGNIZING AS STAFF, THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS AND THE DISCUSSION AND REQUEST FROM THE COMMISSION, THAT'S KIND OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO ALL RIGHT, THESE ARE THE TARGETED ACTIONS AND DESIRES AND REQUESTS. UH, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NECESSARILY A FORMALIZED THING, YOU KNOW, JUST IN, IN SOME DISCUSSIONS. I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S ANY QUESTION THAT EVERYBODY VERY MUCH WAS INTERESTED IN, IN GETTING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AS KIND OF PRIORITY ONE AND TOP JOB TO REALLY CREATE THE FORMATION OF PRIORITIES OF WHAT DIRECTION THE COMMISSION GOES. SO THAT WAS BROUGHT TO COUNCIL. THAT WAS A DISCUSSION TO, UH, TO DO THAT. AND, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE INDICATED COUNSEL AND DISCUSSED, AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT UTILIZING, WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT THE SCOPE OF THAT WOULD BE. SO FIRST OF ALL, LET ME, LET ME INDICATE THAT WHEN WE S WHEN WE HAVE THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE'VE LIKE HIRED FIRMS TO DO IT, I I'VE, I THINK I'VE SAID IT FIVE OR SIX TIMES. AND, AND I'LL SAY MAYBE, UH, MAYBE EMPHASIZE A LITTLE BIT MORE. WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT EXISTING RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE TO UTILIZE THIS. SO, UM, TO SAY THAT WE'VE GONE OUT AND SAID, HEY, WE NEED TO FIND A FIRM TO DO THIS. AND WE'VE JUST SUDDENLY DONE THAT, UH, WITHOUT THE, OF, UH, NOT GIVING ANYBODY ELSE THE OPPORTUNITY, THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER, AS I SAID BEFORE, WE WERE ASKED TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH EXISTING CONTACTS, RESOURCES, RELATIONSHIPS, WITH OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS MVR, PC, AND MAKE THIS BEGIN TO HAPPEN. SO OUR PLAN WAS TO GO MONDAY TO COUNCIL. YEAH. AND TO GIVE THEM THE UPDATE. BUT AS I SAID, IF THIS COMMISSION DOES NOT WANT TO GO THAT ROUTE, THEN [02:20:01] LET US KNOW. NO, AND WE WILL RELATE YEAH. TO COUNCIL. AND THEN THE COUNCIL ULTIMATELY HAS THE DECISION AND DETERMINATION AS WELL TO WHAT WE ARE WE'RE GOING TO DO IN TERMS OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS OF THE CITY. RIGHT. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO NEED THEY VOTE OF THE COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, IS, IS, IS THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE AND NECESSARY, UH, FOR, FOR COUNCIL TO DO. HOWEVER, THE OTHER PROCESS SIDE OF IS, EVEN THOUGH WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT AT THAT TIME, IT WAS, UM, IT WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT, VERY CLEAR THAT THAT WAS A VERY, VERY, VERY NECESSARY AND DESIRED ACTION TO HAVE HAPPEN. AND ON TOP OF THAT, REGARDLESS OF THE COMMISSION, IT'S JUST A GOOD IDEA TO DO SO, YOU KNOW, W YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE DOESN'T NEED TO BE A WHOLE LOT OF BUREAUCRATIC DECISION-MAKING AS TO WHETHER, HEY, LET'S, LET'S GET GOING ON WHAT WE CAN DO TO DO A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. UH, WE WOULD NEED TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF A FORMAL, YOU KNOW, VOTE AND, AND RECOMMENDATION AND, AND RESEARCH AND EFFORT FROM THE COMMISSION. THAT, THAT THAT'S AN EASY ONE. YES, LET'S DO IT. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT A, THERE'S NOT A NEED FOR A WHOLE LOT OF DELIBERATELY DELIBERATION FOR THAT. SO FOR THIS PARTICULAR TOPIC, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS WAS, THAT'S HOW THAT HAPPENED. IT WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, A NO BRAINER, VERY IMPORTANT TO THE, UH, TO THE COMMISSION TALKED ABOUT MANY TIMES IN, IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT MEETINGS. SO STAFF SAYS, HEY, THIS IS A PRIORITY. AND WE NEED TO GET THIS IN FRONT OF COUNCIL, UH, YOU KNOW, SOONER THAN LATER. AND THAT'S EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED. SO, UM, THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE PROCESSING AND THE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE JUST LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT WITH SOME OF THE EVENTS, UH, YOU KNOW, TONIGHT, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE PATHS IN PLACE FOR ANY RESOURCES, LIKE ROADS AND BARRICADES, IF, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR A, A PARADE OR A MARCH OR, OR WALK, UH, UTILIZING THE SIGNS, ADVERTISING, YOU KNOW, MESSAGING, ALL THAT STUFF. WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT. AND THEN YOU GET INTO ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF, OF THINGS WHERE LIKE WE DID TONIGHT, UM, MAKE THE MOTION, SO THAT IT'S ON THE RECORD, THAT THE WE'VE GOT A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO DO THOSE ACTIVITIES, THAT THAT'S WHAT THE COMMISSION WANTS TO DO, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. SO, UM, SO THAT'S HOW, THAT'S HOW MY PROCESS THAT, THAT THIS CAME ABOUT. I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR BUY-IN AND THE, AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE WILLINGNESS AND THE, TO RALLY BEHIND US. I THINK, I THINK THE ONLY PUSHBACK I HAVE ON THIS IS I FEEL LIKE THE DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE FOR US. AND, AND THAT WAS ME IN A POSITION WHERE I'M UNCOMFORTABLE. UM, ONLY BECAUSE IN AN, IN A PERFECT WORLD, WE WOULD HAVE A PROCESS WHERE DIFFERENT PROVIDERS, THE STUFF ON WAS LOOKING INTO A SURVEY TYPE GROUP THAT DID IT SPECIFIC SURVEYS. WE WERE DOING OUR OWN RESEARCH ON THE BACKEND, AND I THINK IT CAUGHT US OFF GUARD IF THERE'S NOT THE COMMUNICATION COMING BACK AND FORTH, THAT THIS IS GOING ON, ON THE BACK END ON YOUR BEHALF FOR OUR COMMISSION. AND, AND THEN TO BE BROUGHT AS A RESOURCE AND BASICALLY TOLD LIKE, AND YOU WILL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS ON MONDAY. WELL, IT'S THURSDAY NIGHT AND WE DON'T GET MUCH OF A DEBATE IN THIS. WE DON'T, WE DON'T IT'S, IT MAY BE A GREAT RESOURCE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER OPTIONS. AND YOU'RE BASICALLY TELLING US, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT. AND THAT, THAT IS AN UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION TO BE PUT IN FOR ME, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HE'S VOLUME OF WORK LOOKS LIKE. SO FOR ME, IT'S A GREAT RESOURCE FOR YOU, BUT FOR ME, THIS COULD BE JOE BLOW DOWN THE STREET THAT I LITERALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE COULD BE GETTING INTO WITH THIS WAS THIS JUST A WORK SESSION WHERE WE WERE GOING TO WHITEBOARD IT, OR, YOU KNOW, WE START WHITE BOARDING OUT THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT, THEN IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WORKS GOING. SO FOR ME, IT JUST, IT'S AN UNCOMFORTABLE POINT WHEN, WHEN WE DIDN'T FORMALIZE THE ASK TO BE BROUGHT WITH THE FINALIZED PROVIDER. IT, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING THAT THE GOAL IS, IS TO TAKE THE RESOURCES, TO, TO WHITEBOARD, TO DISCUSS, TO SEE AND DEVELOP WHAT THE SCOPE OF THINGS ARE. IF THAT SCOPE TURNS OUT TO BE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE ADEQUATE RESOURCES ARE COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT WE HAVE FOUND, THEN THAT WOULD THEN TURN, DEVELOP INTO SEEKING ANOTHER RESOURCE, WHETHER IT BE AT, YOU KNOW, FINDING, FINDING A FIRM, THAT'S NOT ONE OF THE INTERNAL OR EXISTING [02:25:01] PARTNER RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE. OKAY. I DON'T, I, YOU KNOW, MY PERSONAL OPINION IS THAT, THAT DOES MAKE ME A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A COMMISSION, THIS IS A NINE PERSON GROUP THAT WE SHOULD BE VOTING ON MLK WALKS AND, YOU KNOW, SUMMER EVENTS SH THERE BE A VOTING AND AN AGREEMENT BY THE COMMISSION. WE SHOULD HEAR IT. SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOUR LAST WORD. I'M SORRY, NOTHING. I JUST SAID, I JUST REALLY FEEL LIKE THERE SHOULD BE AN OVERALL VOTE BY THE COMMISSION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TO, WITH AS A COMMISSION. RIGHT. AND, AND THAT'S, THAT REALLY IS BEING FORCED DOWN. WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANTED TO ASSEMBLE THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ABILITY, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO ARGUE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SOME CLARITY AND SOME EXPLANATION AS, UM, BASED ON SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT YOU MADE, JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR, UM, YOU KNOW, NO, NOBODY HERE IS GOING TO PHYSICALLY BE DOING THE ACTUAL WORK FROM THE COMMISSION, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE AS YOLANDA SAID, EVERYBODY'S GOT FULL TIME JOBS, BUT TOO, I THINK EVERYBODY'S GOT THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT RESOURCES WOULD BE NEEDED IF WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES AT THE TABLE NOW. SO WE'RE, WE'RE NOT EVEN A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE OF WHAT THE END RESULT IS GOING TO BE. WE JUST KNOW THAT WE NEED A, YOU KNOW, NEEDS ASSESSMENT, IF THAT IS IN COMBINATION WITH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MR ELEY HAS AND, AND, UH, UH, OUR EFFORTS OF ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACT ROOF IS SOURCE TO ENGAGE IN, IN, AND MESSAGE AND, YOU KNOW, GET INFORMATION FROM ET CETERA, ET CETERA, IF THERE ARE CERTAIN TASKS AND IDENTIFYING THINGS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT THAT WE FIND IS GOING TO NEED TO BE EITHER A SPECIALIZED OR THAT WE DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, UNTIL YOLANDA'S POINT, IF, IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S NOT THE RIGHT, UH, MAKEUP, UM, OR, OR COLOR OR LENS OF, OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, THEN WE KNOW RIGHT THEN AND THERE, WELL, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCOPE OF THIS, UM, GO A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY HAS THE ANSWER TO SAYING, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED UNTIL WE SIT DOWN AND START BOARDING AND HASHING OUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE NEED AND THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE, UM, CAN BRING TO THE TABLE, A LOT OF DATA AND INFORMATION TO HELP GUIDE, TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, IF WE DO NEED TO DEVELOP, UM, A PROPOSAL, A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, UH, FOR FIRMS OUTSIDE OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE, THEN WE'LL KNOW THAT AT THAT TIME, WE DID NOT SAY WE DID NOT COMMUNICATION BACK. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR TONIGHT. I MEAN, THAT'S WHY YOU'VE GOT FOUR STAFF MEMBERS. THAT'S WHY YOU HAD TWO OUTSIDE GUESTS. UM, YOU KNOW, TH THIS IS HOW WE COMMUNICATE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T CALL YOU BEFORE THE MEETINGS AND HAVE ROUND ROBIN DISCUSSIONS WE SHOULD BRING AND PRESENT AND DISCUSS THE INFORMATION, UH, TO YOU WHEN YOU MEET AS A, AS A, AS A COMMISSION. SO THERE'S SOURCE THAT WE UPDATE AND BRING THAT INFORMATION. AND THAT'S WHAT THIS IS. YEAH. SO THIS IS ERIC STEVEN. SO, SO MAYBE WHAT WOULD, WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND IS SORT OF WHAT IS THE PROCESS OR THE CRITERIA, OR WHEN YOU ACTUALLY ISSUE AN RFQ VERSUS SAYING, I'M GOING TO CHOOSE A PARTICULAR, UH, BENDER RESOURCE OR, UM, RIGHT. UH, YEAH. BENDER OR A RESOURCE, RIGHT. CAUSE I, FOR ME, I DON'T WORK FOR THE, FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BUT I WORK IN ACQUISITION. RIGHT. AND SO I DON'T KNOW, THIS IS NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WE HAVE TO ISSUE AN RFP, RIGHT. FOR ANY BENDER, FOR ANY CONTRACTOR THAT DOES WORK, UNLESS WE HAVE A SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION, YOU KNOW, AND THAT COULD BE, THIS IS THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN DO THE JOB, FOR EXAMPLE. RIGHT. LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, I WORK ON THE F 15 FIGHTER, RIGHT? BOEING IS THE, IS THE MAJOR SUB, RIGHT? AND SO WE HAD TO PAY FOR ALL THE DATA RIGHTS, IF WE WANTED TO GO AND HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TO DO SOME MAJOR WORK ON THE BOEING, ON THE F 15 FIGHTER JET. SO MAYBE YOU CAN HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND. AND I KNOW YOU SAY, USE AN EXISTING RESOURCE. CAN YOU SAY EXISTING RESOURCE THAT GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT IT'S AN INTERNAL RESOURCE, BUT IN THIS CASE, NOT AN INTERNAL RESOURCE, RIGHT? THAT'S SOMEBODY [02:30:01] THAT WORKS FOR THE CITY, IT'S STILL A VENDOR OR SOMEONE THAT YOU'RE HIRING TO DO A, A JOB, UH, DO A PARTICULAR TASK. SO LET'S TRY TO UNDERSTAND HOW DO YOU, I ASSUME THERE'S SOME CRITERIA, SOME PROCESS THAT SAYS, HEY, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, WE NEED A VENDOR TO DO THIS WORK. AND IT REQUIRES US TO DO AN RFP, OUR QUEUE, VERSUS IN THIS PARTICULAR, IN THIS OTHER SITUATION, BECAUSE IN THIS CASE, WE'RE JUST SAYING, IT'S BECAUSE WE KNOW THE EXPERIENCES OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, WE'RE JUST GOING TO SELECT THEM. SO MAYBE I LIKE TO THINK THERE'S PROBABLY SOME, SOME, SOME PACK EMITTED, MAYBE PROCESS THAT SAYS, HEY, I CAN GO DOWN THIS PATH, GIVEN THIS SORT OF SETUP, GIVEN THIS SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES VERSUS THE OTHER. RIGHT. AND AGAIN, I KNOW IT'S NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. I'M JUST, I KNOW THAT'S HOW WE DO THINGS ON THE GOVERNMENT SIDE IS THE CITY GOVERNMENT, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN KIND OF HELP US. AND AGAIN, MAYBE YOU'RE JUST OPTING TO JUSTIFY IT. YOU CAN DO THAT, BUT MAYBE THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ME TO EXPLAIN THAT. UM, AND MAYBE PART OF IT KIND OF GOES BACK TO, AGAIN, TO MAYBE YOLANDA'S POINT, RIGHT, WHERE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO ENSURE THAT FOLKS ARE BE GIVEN A FAIR OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, GET CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY, RIGHT. TO BE ABLE TO DO WORK FOR THE CITY. RIGHT. UM, AND WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, CREED BACKGROUND WOULD HAVE, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE BEST QUALIFIED, UH, UH, GROUP, UH, BENDER COMPANY, OR WHAT HAVE YOU DO WORK FOR THE CITY. I CAN ANSWER THAT REAL QUICK, UM, QUESTION YESTERDAY. AND IF YOU RECALL, WE HAD THIS, WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION, UH, SHORTLY AFTER THE COMMISSION WAS FORMED IN THE COUNCIL ROOM. WE ALL STUCK AROUND AND TALKED THAT LATE ONE NIGHT AND WE USED ABOUT THAT VIDEO, RIGHT? SO IT'S, IT'S COST THRESHOLD. UH, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS IS, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, ONCE IT REACHED A COST THRESHOLD IS WHAT REQUIRES AN RFP. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT WE GO BY AND UTILIZE AND, YOU KNOW, THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE IN, IN THE CURRENT, UH, THE CURRENT SERVICES BEING PROVIDED THAT WE MENTIONED TONIGHT ARE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE, THE THRESHOLD WAS THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT OUT AND DO THAT, THAT RFP OR THAT BID. SO, UH, QUITE SIMPLY IT'S IT'S COST THRESHOLD IS WHERE, UM, WHERE DETERMINES WHAT THE RFP PROCESS IS. AND THAT'S, WHAT'S IN THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ORDINANCES IN, IN THE, UM, IN THE PROCEDURES THERE, AND IT'S $25,000. I KNEW THAT WAS GOING TO BE THE NEXT QUESTION. SO I SAY IT'S $25,000. SO ANYTHING FROM 20 ANYTHING ABOVE $25,000 AND UNDER 75, UH, CAN BE A BID AND AWARD SITUATION. IN OTHER WORDS, WE CAN SAY, HEY, WE'RE SEEKING SERVICES FOR, UM, THIS, AND WE, WE KNOW THAT IT'S GOING TO BE UNDER 75, BUT MORE THAN 25, WE CAN GET AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT BIDS AND AWARD IT ALL IN THE SAME PIECE OF LEGISLATION. IF IT'S ABOVE $75,000, THEN WE HAVE TO BID IT. THEN WE HAVE TO BRING IT BACK FOR DELIBERATION TO MAKE THE AWARD OF THE RESPONDENTS TO THE BID. SO IT'S ALL BASED ON THAT TIERED, UM, THAT TIERED COST THRESHOLD AND THOSE THAT WAS FOLLOWED THE GUIDELINES, ACTUALLY, THE STATE RAISED THEIR GUIDELINES. I THINK THEY START AT 50,000 NOW. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE STILL, UM, YOU KNOW, WE STILL RETAIN THAT LOWER AMOUNT AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S FOR, IN MY OPINION, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD AMOUNT BECAUSE IT'S DEMONSTRATES A LITTLE BIT OF FISCAL KIND OF RESPONSIBILITY. YOU WOULDN'T WANT SOMEBODY TO NOT HAVE TO SEEK COMPETITIVE BIDS FOR, YOU KNOW, A REAL HIGH AMOUNT. UM, SO THAT THAT'S, UM, THAT'S THE PROCESS. THAT'S WHAT IS BASED ON THOSE COSTS THRESHOLDS. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT. WE'VE GOT, WHEN I SAID WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, EXISTING RESOURCE TO YOUR POINT, ERIC, AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY MR. SPEAKS IS FROM AN EXTERNAL RESOURCE, SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, IN A CITY STAFF AND ALL THAT STUFF, THEY, THEY ARE EXTERNAL, UH, AND WOULD BE A CONTRACTOR, BUT THEY WEREN'T HIRED FOR THIS PARTICULAR SOLE PURPOSE. UM, YOU KNOW, IN BROUGHT IN, YOU KNOW, WE WE'VE, WE'VE GOT THEM UNDER AGREEMENT FOR, YOU KNOW, OTHER SERVICES AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE DONE AND HAD EXPERIENCED. SO BEING ABLE TO MOBILIZE EXISTING RESOURCES, UM, THAT, THAT WE'VE HAD SUCCESS WITH WEST THE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE SUGGESTED STARTING POINT ON IT. SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT WE MEANT BY EXISTING RESOURCES. SO WHEN YOU SAY YOU UTILIZE THEM FOR OTHER THINGS, ARE THEY UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE CITY? IS THAT WHAT THAT MEANS FOR A CERTAIN TIME? YEAH. MORE, MORE OR LESS, UM, IT'S UM, UH, IT'S IT WAS FOR SURVEY AND ONGOING COMMUNICATION SERVICES, BUT AS WE TALKED, THEY SAID, HEY, IS THIS [02:35:01] SOMETHING ELSE? UH, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATED FUNDS FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES THAT WE ALLOCATE, UH, YOU KNOW, WITHIN A BUDGET FOR THE CITY AND, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE INVOLVEMENT WOULD BE OF THEIR SERVICES, YOU KNOW, KEPT US WITHIN THAT INITIAL COST THRESHOLD, UM, OF, OF WHAT WE HAVE, UH, HAVE APPROPRIATED. SO, UM, SO, SO YEAH, THERE, WE'VE GOT A, UM, UM, I WOULDN'T SAY A CONTRACT KIND OF IMPLIES THAT, UM, UM, I GUESS TECHNICALLY, YEAH, YOU COULD, YOU COULD USE THE WORD, YOU KNOW, GENERALIZED THIS IS CONTRACT, BUT IT'S NOT, WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEM CONTRACTED FOR ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, FOR AN EXTENDED AMOUNT OF TIME, TWO, THREE, FOUR YEARS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IT'S, YOU KNOW, FOR, WITHIN AN ARTICULATED, UH, YOU KNOW, BUDGET CYCLE, UH, FOR A, UM, FOR AN ARTICULATED SCOPE OF SERVICE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT SURVEY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, UH, ON AND OFF FOR SEVERAL YEARS, UM, IT GOES BACK TO, UH, 2014, I THINK, UM, ON, OFF, UM, THERE'S BEEN SOME TIMES WHERE WE HAVEN'T REALLY NEEDED ANYTHING AND NOW GOING INTO THIS YEAR, UH, IN, OR ACTUALLY COMING OUT OF 20, 20, 20, 20, UH, TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO, UH, RE-ENGAGE IN IT, HAVE SOME THINGS DONE KNOWING THAT WE HAVE SOME UPCOMING, UM, THE, THE TRASH SURVEY, THE OVERALL CITIZENS, OR THE OVERALL COMMUNITY SURVEY THAT SARAH WAS REFERRING TO EARLIER, AND ALSO ENHANCING SOME OF OUR, UM, ENGAGEMENT AND MESSAGING AND COMMUNICATE COORDINATED COMMUNICATION EFFORTS AS WELL. YOU KNOW, BRINGING SARAH ON BOARD HAS BEEN A, A, A GODSEND FOR US. UH, BUT ON TOP OF THAT, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE VENDOR TO HELP UTILIZE SOME OF THEIR RESOURCES AS WELL. SO I WOULD SAY SINCE I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 2014 ON AND OFF, NOT, UM, NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERY SINGLE DAY, EVERY SINGLE YEAR THROUGHOUT THAT. SO SINCE WE HAD THEM, UH, BEEN WORKING WITH THEM ON SOMETHING, OR RECENTLY WE, UM, HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT JUST AS WELL, ROB, I JUST THINK BASED ON EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN SAID SO FAR, UM, I'M GOING TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPACT GROUP UNTIL A RFQ PLASTIC PROCESS, UM, HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE. I THINK THAT'S FAIR. I THINK THAT'S TRANSPARENT. I THINK THAT'S OPEN AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE ALL SIGNED UP FOR. I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR ANYBODY ON THE COMMISSION, BUT I DO FEEL LIKE BASED ON OUR CHARTER, WE NEED TO HOLD TRUE TO THAT. WE NEED TO PUT THIS TO PUT A MOTION ON THE FLOOR AND I'M PREPARED TO DO THAT, AND WE NEED TO CALL A VOTE SO THAT IT IS REFLECTED IN OUR MINUTES, WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATION IS. UM, AND I DO UNDERSTAND WE ARE A RECOMMENDING BOARD. UM, AND SO ULTIMATELY WE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT COUNCIL DECIDES TO DO. UM, BUT I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LET OUR, UM, OUR OPINIONS BE RECORDED IN THE MINUTES. SO I AM MAKING A MOTION THAT WE, UM, I SPLIT UP RFQ IN PLACE FOR A PROVIDER FOR THEIR COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT. IT NEEDS A SECOND, BUT I THINK FRED'S GOT A CRUSH THAT WAS NOT, THAT WAS NOT A SECOND QUESTION COMMENT. UM, FOR ROB, UM, HAS, UH, TERMS, ORGANIZATION RUN A, UM, A NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY FOR MUNICIPALITIES, SUCH AS DID I, UH, I WOULD HAVE TO DEFER TO KIM. I KNOW HE INDICATED THEY DO A LOT OF WORK WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WHICH HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE TARGETED THINGS IN THE IDEA OF MUNICIPALITIES. UM, I GET THE IMPRESSION EVEN TO MR. ELEY, THAT IT'S NOT A COMMONLY REQUESTED THING. UH, HOWEVER, IN SCHOOLS, UM, WITH SOME OF THEIR, UM, WHAT DID HE CALL A PORTRAIT OF STUDENTS, UH, INITIATIVES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, SO I WOULD SAY IN A PUBLIC [02:40:01] ENTITY, I WOULD ANSWER YES, BUT FOR ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY, LIKE HUBER HEIGHTS, I COULDN'T, I COULDN'T ANSWER THAT. AND THAT'S BASED ON SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT TOM AND I HAVE HAD, AND ALSO WHAT HE, UH, WHAT RELAYED HERE JUST WANNA, I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, COME IN AND IDENTIFY WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO DO AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT, STRATEGIC PLANNING, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE THINGS IS HIS AREAS THAT HE CERTAINLY HAS, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS, HAS DONE. AND THAT'S BASED ON WHAT HE SAID TONIGHT AND BASED ON CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH HIM BEFORE. SO, UM, IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION BASED ON WHAT HE SAID, BECAUSE I ASKED THAT POINTED QUESTION, IF HE DID THAT, IF THEIR BUSINESS HAD DONE DIVERSITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, AND I DID NOT GET THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY HAD SPECIFICALLY DONE THE VARSITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, HOWEVER, THEY'VE DONE ASSESSMENTS THAT ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT DIVERSITY, WHICH IS DIFFERENT. SO I, YOU KNOW, AS, AT THE END, FROM MY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE ISSUE OF DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, RACISM, WHOLE DIFFERENT, ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THIS DISCUSSION CONVERSATION PROTOCOL. AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE EXPERTISE IN THAT AREA, THAT'S THE NOCO, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE EXPERTISE IN THAT AREA. I'M SORRY. DR. AKINS, DID I CUT YOU OFF? NO, HE, YEAH. ROB ANSWERED THE QUESTION. UM, I WAS GONNA ASK GO BACK TO HIS ANSWER AS IT RELATED TO, UM, DOING, UH, THIS KIND OF DIVERSITY WORK, BUT, UM, AS, AS IMPORTANT AS IT IS, I THINK EVEN HAVING THE EXPERIENCE IN CONDUCTING SUCH A MASSIVE SCALE PROJECT LIKE THIS, I'M NOT SURE IF HE IS THE BEST PERSON AVAILABLE BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVEN'T DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAD THE BEST QUALIFIED PERSON TO DO IT. SO I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S THE BEST PERSON. I DON'T THINK ANYBODY ON THIS CALL CAN DETERMINE IF HE'S THE BEST, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T SOUGHT OUT ANYONE. UM, IN ADDITION TO HIM, AT LEAST NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH. RIGHT. HAD A QUESTION. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. NO PROBLEM, ROB. SO REAL QUESTION. SO, SO TO MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR ON THIS. SO THE PURPOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, TOM BEING ON TONIGHT, WAS IT, THAT IS THE EXPECTATION THAT HE'S GOING TO DO THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT OR WAS THE HE'S GOING TO HELP US DEVELOP THE SCOPE AND FIND SOMEONE TO DO DENISE EXPECTATIONS? I MEAN, AS SCIENTISTS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT YES, THANKS FOR ASKING, BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF THE POINT THAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE. UM, I THINK WE KEEP, I THINK FOR SOME REASON WE'VE JUMPED TO CONCLUSIONS, AS I SAID, AND, AND BECOME SOMEWHAT OFFENDED THAT WE'VE COME AND SAID, HEY, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. I'VE HEARD THAT TERM THROWN OUT. AND, UH, AND THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OTHER WAYS I CAN SAY IT AGAIN. WE WANTED TO BRING BOTH HIM AND MR. ELEY SO THAT WE CAN SIT DOWN AND FACILITATE WHAT IT IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO WANT TO DO. IF IN THAT DISCUSSION, WE FIND THAT WE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH AND HAVE THE RESOURCES IN PLACE TO CARRY OUT THE FULL SCOPE OF WHAT WE DECIDE TO BE IN NEEDS ASSESSMENT. AS YOU RECALL, WHEN, WHEN WE WENT BACK AND, AND PURCHASED, WE REALIZED THAT TO TAKE A COOKIE CUTTER PROCESS OF, OKAY, DO THIS AND DO THIS AND HAVE A FIRM DO THIS, UM, THAT PROBABLY ISN'T GOING TO FIT THE BILL BECAUSE OF ALL THE VARIETY OF IDEAS AND, AND, AND EXPECTATIONS AND DESIRES OUT OF THIS PROCESS TO FIRST FORMULATE A PLAN TO RECONCILE THOSE. AND IN THAT PROCESS, WE HAVE BEGUN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, RIGHT? SO THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT STARTS WITH US IDENTIFYING THE SCOPE. AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAVE PROCESSES IN PLACE TO UTILIZE SOME GUIDANCE FROM MR. ELEY, UTILIZING, YOU KNOW, TOM TO WORK ON AND FACILITATE THAT. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE STAFF DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO JUST, AS YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO DEDICATE [02:45:01] FULL WELL, THE, THE HOURS TO TAKE ON THE PROJECT TO SEE THE VAST COMPLEXITIES AND DRILL THOSE DOWN INTO A FOCUSED SCOPE. UH, IF WE DID, WE'D PROBABLY STILL BE HAVING THIS MEETING IN JANUARY OF 2020 TO, UH, TO, TO BE HONEST. SO UTILIZING THOSE RESOURCES TO BEGIN THE PROCESS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, STARTING THE PROCESS OF A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND OUT OF THAT DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCOPE, IF IT INCLUDES IDENTIFYING A FIRM, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO DO IT, THEN SO BE IT. AND WE THEN DO THAT. UM, BUT WE, WE HAVE NOT MADE THE DETERMINATION THAT, AND I CAN'T BE CLEAR ENOUGH IN SAYING THIS AGAIN, WE HAVE NOT MADE THE DETERMINATION TO COME IN AND SAY, LOOK, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. WE WANT TO EMBRACE YOUR EXPERTISE AND GET A COLLECTION OF THOSE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS TO SEE WHAT IT IS NOT GETTING HUNG UP ON. AND ONE OF THE ELEMENTS MIGHT BE MAKING SURE THAT, UM, I JUST, THERE WAS A MESSAGE HAS COME THROUGH, SORRY, THAT DISTRACTED ME. NOT JUST, NOT JUST MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS AN RFP PROCESS, IF THAT'S WHAT THE COMMISSION WANTS TO DO IS TO JUST START RIGHT OFF WITH THAT WITHOUT FIRST IDENTIFYING THE SCOPE AND THAT ROADMAP AS TO WHAT THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS GOING TO BE. AND THEN, AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S FINE. THAT CAN BE THE RECOMMENDATION AND WE'LL GO THAT ROUTE. UM, BUT IN COMBINATION OF THE IDEAS BROUGHT FROM THIS COMMISSION, WHICH AGAIN, I CONGRATULATE AND GOT EXCITED ABOUT, UM, AND IF IT WAS IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, UM, MAKING ANYBODY NOT COMFORTABLE, THE FACT THAT WE, YOU KNOW, CARRIED, CARRIED FORWARD IN, IN COUNCIL OFFERED, HEY, TO GET GOING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, IT, WASN'T AN INTENT TO DATE, TO DATE FROM THE POSSIBILITY OF NOT INCLUDING ANY OUT, ANY ADDITIONAL OUTSIDE FIRMS, BUT I'M, I'M NOT GOING TO DISREGARD THE POTENTIAL EXPERTISE IN WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AND ABILITIES TO DO. SO, UH, THAT'S NOT FAIR EITHER. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE, AND THAT'S, EVERYBODY'S COLLECTIVE. I MEAN, EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, HERE ON THIS CALL AND IN EVERYTHING, BUT UNDERSTANDING THAT NOBODY HERE, AS I SAID BEFORE, IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE TIME OR THE ABILITY TO TAKE THIS ON AND DO IT THEMSELVES. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF, IF, IF, IF SOMEBODY HERE WOULD BE ABLE TO, UM, UH, UM, WHAT'S THE WORD, UM, RECUSED HIMSELF FROM THIS, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, GO, GO DO IT. BUT, UH, BUT THAT, THAT'S NOT THE CASE. SO, SO YES, SHORT ANSWER AFTER A LONG SUMMARY, ERIC IS YES, THE PURPOSE WAS, IS TO COME IN AND IDENTIFY THAT SCOPE. AND JUST LIKE MR. ELEY SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT TO IDENTIFY WHO OUR COMMUNITY IS AND THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER, IF THAT ENDS UP IDENTIFYING THE SCOPE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN RFP TO FIND A FIRM, BECAUSE WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT THIS IS BEYOND EITHER THE, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE ABILITIES OR THE SCOPE OR THE CONFIDENCE, OR THE SKILL SET AND WHAT WE IDENTIFY, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE, UH, WE GO THAT ROUTE, BUT AGAIN, IF, IF WE WANT TO NOT GO THAT ROUTE AND BEGIN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THAT, THAT FIRST STEP IN DEFINING OUR SCOPE, UH, THEN WE CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE RF, UH, YOU KNOW, GO OUT AND, AND HAVE THE RFP. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL UTILIZE SOME INPUT FROM, FROM THE COMMISSION TO SEE, UH, WHAT WOULD WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN THAT, UH, IN THAT RFP. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE FOLLOWING THE PROCESSES TO DO THAT. AND THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO COUNCIL AND, AND SAYING, HEY, DO YOU WANT TO DO AN RFP? AND THE INITIAL ANSWER WAS, WELL, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE INITIALLY TO DECIDE IF THAT'S THE RIGHT ROUTE, NOT DISCOUNTING OR TAKING AWAY FROM ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OR INFORMATION FROM THE COMMISSION. UM, BUT CAN WE GET A STEP FORWARD AND GET GOING ON IT AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO WHITEBOARD AND WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, EFFORTS TEND TO BE TAKEN TO IDENTIFY, REALLY DEFINE THAT SCOPE. UM, BECAUSE AS WE'VE SAID BEFORE, THIS, THIS PR THIS ISN'T A STANDARD STRATEGIC PLAN OR COMMUNITY-BASED ASSESSMENT, IT IS, IT IS TARGETED. AND WE WANT, YOU KNOW, DEFINE THAT, THAT TARGET AND FIND THE COMMUNITY WHO, WHO, AND WHAT THAT IS. AND THAT MIGHT MEAN TO TOM'S POINT. I LIKE THE ANALOGY, YOU KNOW, POP THE HOOD AND DO SOME INITIAL SURVEYING AND DO SOME INITIAL STUFF TO FIND OUT BEFORE WE CAN IDENTIFY WHAT THAT ULTIMATE SCOPE MIGHT BE. [02:50:01] THAT, THAT, THAT WAS THE THOUGHT PROCESS. AND IF THAT'S NOT A GOOD ONE, WELL, WELL THEN, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S NOT THAT IT'S NOT A GOOD ONE WE'RE IN, WE'RE JUST GIVING SOME ADDITIONAL THINGS TO THIS FOR, TO BE CONSIDERED. I THINK WE'RE CUTTING, WE'RE CUTTING OUT THE, THE, THE, THE POSSIBILITY OR THE, THE DESIRE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, ENTITIES AND FIRMS, THE ABILITY TO DO IT. IT'S, IT'S, WE'RE NOT, IT'S JUST, WE NEED TO DIE TO IDENTIFY, AND THIS IS, THIS IS JUST IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. UH, AND, YOU KNOW, RHONDA INDICATED THAT SHE WAS NEAR SHAKING, UM, YOU KNOW, TH THIS, THIS WASN'T THAT IT WAS OKAY. WE NEED TO ASK THEM TO BE RELATIVELY FRUGAL AND PRUDENT WITH THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE ALLOCATED. AND IF WE CAN UTILIZE SOME OF THAT TO BEGIN GOING, THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE THOUGHT, UH, IT WAS NOTHING MORE THAN THAT. UH, IT, IT, WASN'T AN ATTEMPT TO, UH, CIRCUMVENT ANY PROCESS OF INCLUSION OR CIRCUMVENTING A PROCESS OF ANY MINORITY IN BUSINESS OR CONSULTANT TO BE ABLE TO COME IN AND PARTICIPATE AND DO THAT. UM, IT WAS JUST, HEY, WE, WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES HERE. UM, LET'S UTILIZE THAT EXPERTISE, TAP INTO THE THOUGHT PROCESS OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERS, UH, TO REALLY DRILL DOWN AND HELP IDENTIFY WHAT THE SCOPE OF THIS IS GOING TO BE. OKAY. HEY, CAN I JUMP IN HERE AGAIN? SO FROM, SO FROM THE COMMISSION, WHAT IS THERE AN, IS THERE A CONCERN THAT WE HAVE WITH USING THESE FOLKS TO HELP US GET THE BALL STARTED? I, I AGREE. I KNOW WE ALL HAVE A CONCERN AND I'M ALL IN FAVOR OF TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A FIRM THAT IS, UM, DIVERSE. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? THAT'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT THIS. SO I AGREE WITH THAT BECAUSE THERE, I MEAN, I'M THIS DIVERSITY THING FOR WORK AND THE FOLKS THEY SENT TO ASK ME, THE QUESTIONS WAS THE WRONG FOLKS. SO I GOT IT. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SO I, I DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO US, BUT IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH HAVING THIS GROUP? CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE WHAT ROBIN IS TRYING TO SAY, HEY, THIS GROUP IS GOING TO HELP US GO PICK THAT GROUP. NOW, MAYBE THESE GUYS TURN OUT TO BE THE RIGHT GUYS. I DON'T KNOW. BUT IS THERE AN ISSUE THAT WE HAVE USING THESE GUYS TO HELP US GO PICK THE RIGHT GROUP? AND I'M ASKING THAT OF THAT COMMITTEE. YEAH, I WILL DO MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, THAT, WASN'T MY UNDERSTANDING FROM THE CONVERSATION THAT JUST OCCURRED, THAT WASN'T MINE EITHER. AND WHEN YOU TALK FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A CONSULTANT, WHEN I, AS A CONSULTANT, WHEN I'M GOING IN AND I START TO DO WHITE BOARDING WITH AN ENTITY, THAT MEANS YOU HAVE CONTRACTED WITH ME TO HIRE ME AND I AM GOING TO BE WORKING WITH YOU PERIOD. NOW, THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT, AS SPEAKING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A CONSULTANT, IF SOMEONE COMES TO ME AND THEY SAY, I NEED A, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING A DIVERSITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, OKAY, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT? SO HERE'S WHAT OUR COMMISSION HAS ALREADY DONE. EACH OF THE COMMITTEES HAS ALREADY OUTLINED KEY TARGET AREAS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PULL FROM THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. SO WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED THAT, THE PRELIMINARY GROUNDWORK FOR THAT, THAT'S THE FIRST THING. SO IN THE PLAN, AND WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR ABOUT THIS IN OUR MEETINGS IS THAT WE'RE GATHERING THAT INFORMATION. WHAT DID THE COMMITTEES FEEL? UM, WHAT DO WE NEED TO PULL FROM THIS DATA FROM A NEEDS ASSESSMENT? WE TAKE THAT INFORMATION. WE TALK TO A CONSULTANT AND SAY, HEY, SPITS BACK A PROPOSAL. OKAY. HERE'S HOW WE CAN BE YOUR NEED. AND THEN WE GO THROUGH THAT AS THE, WHICH PRIOR ROOM THAT ALIGNS TO OUR NEEDS. BEST THAT THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT WE HAD ALREADY TALKED ABOUT. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN THE LAST MEETING, SPECIFICALLY, MR. CHUCK HOUSE, HE SAID RFQ PROCESS, YOU'LL BE INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS AS A COMMISSION. HE CLEARLY SAID THAT. SO I THINK THAT THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY WE'RE ALL TAKEN ABACK RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT'S LIKE, OKAY, THIS SCRIPT JUST SPLIT. AND I'M CONFUSED. YES. MADAM CHAIR, I JUST WANT TO BRING UP, YOU JUST BROUGHT UP THE POINT THAT I WAS GOING TO MAKE. I KEEP HEARING SCOPE IN THIS CONVERSATION. I BELIEVE THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED THE SCOPE TO THE VARIOUS COMMITTEES THAT WE HAVE EDUCATION OUTREACH REFORM ADVOCACY. SO THROUGH THOSE SCOPES HAS AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO COUNCIL. I THOUGHT AS WELL, THAT WE WOULD PROPOSE TO CITY COUNCIL, WHAT TYPE OF [02:55:01] POTENTIAL CONSULTANTS BASED ON THOSE SCOPE PARAMETERS TO HELP US DO THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. AND THAT IS PART OF OUR PURPOSE AS AN ADVISORY BOARD TO THE COUNCIL, BASED ON WHAT WAS INITIALLY DRAFTED AS THE DUTIES OF THIS COMMISSION. THANK YOU, MISS . YEAH. AND I, AND I WILL SAY, UM, I'M GOING TO, UH, I'M GOING TO SIGN OFF HERE CAUSE IT'S 10 IT'S 10 O'CLOCK AND THIS IS THE, UH, ABOUT THE THIRD, FOURTH, THIRD, FOUR HOUR, UH, EVENING MEETING THAT I'VE HAD THIS WEEK. SO, UM, I, UM, UM, TO RHONDA, REPEAT YOUR MOTION. AND THAT WAS 30 MINUTES AGO. MY MOTION WAS THAT WE INITIATE AN RFQ PROCESS OR A CONSULTANT FOR THE DIVERSITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, OR I'M SORRY FOR THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT. MADAM CHAIR. I SECOND THAT MOTION. IT HAS BEEN PROPERLY MOVED AND SECONDED THAT WE WILL OPEN IT. THE COMMISSION MAKES THE RECOMMENDATION THAT OPENED UP FOR THE RFQ PROCESS OR THE DIVERSITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT. THANK YOU. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SIGNIFY BY SAYING, OKAY. HEY, YOU MISS SOMEONE. YES. MS. NEWBIE. YES. MR. A DR. AKINS, DR. AKINS, MS. PURVIS. YEAH. MR. RAMIREZ, MR. RICHARDSON. YES. MR. STEVENS. MS. STEVENS. OH YES, NO OPPOSITIONS. OKAY. PUT THIS BACK ON THE AGENDA THERE, BUT I'M GLAD WE DID THAT. SO WE'RE DONE. WE'RE DONE WITH NEW BUSINESS. NOW WE CAN ADJOURN OUR MEETING. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE. NOTHING ELSE. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO TURN THE MEETING. OKAY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.