* 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. [ AGENDA CULTURE AND DIVERSITY CITIZEN ACTION COMMISSION City Hall - Council Chambers 6131 Taylorsville Road June 6, 2024 6:00 P.M. ] [00:00:04] OKAY. AND WITH THAT, WE WILL CALL THE JUNE 6TH MEETING OF THE CULTURE AND DIVERSITY CITIZENS ACTION COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 6:19 PM GET A ROLL CALL PLEASE. MS. NEWBIE. MS. PREVIS PURVIS. MS. PURVIS? PRESENT. MR. VY? PRESENT. MR. OWENS? MS. TROTTER? PRESENT. MS. SIGLE? MR. CHUCK LAA CHA. MS. RICHARDSON . I WROTE IT DOWN PHONETICALLY AND HAD IT ON A PIECE OF PAPER SO I COULD SAY IT. . UM, PLEASE NOTE THAT, UH, MS. JEAN NEWBIE, MS. CARLA, MRS. CARLA STEGEL. AND, UH, MR. CHALA, HES A, NO, NOT EVEN CLOSE. CI DIDN'T BRING MY PAPER. UM, OUR EXCUSE FOR THE EVENING. OH. AS WELL AS, UH, MS. STEVENS. SORRY, I'M READING AT THE SAME TIME. UM, LET'S MOVE TO APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MAY. WE DO HAVE A COUPLE CORRECTIONS, ONE UNDER CITIZENS' COMMENTS. THE NAME OF THE SORORITY WAS ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SPELLED, UH, WITH THE SECOND ALPHA THAT WAS MISSING. THE NAME OF THE CHAPTER IS BETA. I'M GONNA MAKE A MESS OF THAT. BETA. BETA. BETA. ETTA OMEGA, NOT BETA EIGHT. OMEGA ON LINE SIX OF THE SECTION. UH, SAME SECTION. INSTEAD OF AFRICAN AMERICAN, IT SHOULD STATE AFRICAN AMERICANS. UH, SECOND, WELL TECHNICALLY FOURTH, UH, UNDER FOUR B OLD BUSINESS. UM, PLEASE UPDATE MS. JEAN NEWBIE'S LAST NAME TO N-E-W-B-Y. UM, AND THAT'S MY EDITS VICARIOUSLY THROUGH JEAN. UM, ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL EDITS TO THE MAY MINUTES? CAN WE GET, UM, NO. WITH NO ADDITIONAL EDITS, CAN WE GET A MOTION TO APPROVE WITH THE EDITS? MAY WE SHOULD BEEN, MAY SHOULD HAVE TWO. DO YOU HAVE MAY AND JUNE OR APRIL AND MAY? NO, WE HAVE APRIL AND APRIL. I SEE IT. YEP. YEP. SORRY. IT'S, UH, YEAH, YOU CAN ADD THAT CORRECTION. IT SAYS APRIL. IT SHOULD SAY MAY. IT IS. MAY. YEAH, IT IS. MAY, MAY. I JUST THOUGHT WE HAD TWO SECTIONS, UH, TWO SETS. SO I WAS JUST ASSUMING ONE WAS ONE AND ONE WAS NOT THE OTHER. GOOD CALL. I MAKE THE MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE MAY MINUTES WITH THE, UH, FOLLOWING CORRECTIONS. I SECOND. THANK YOU GENTLEMEN, IS SO APPROVED AND CARRIED. UM, MAKE A QUICK UPDATE TO THE AGENDA. UM, I'M GOING TO MOVE OLD BUSINESS DOWN TO FIVE AND ADD A FOUR FOR CITIZENS' COMMENTS. UM, WE HAVE A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT WOULD LIKE TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION, UM, ABOUT, UM, A CHILDREN'S BOOK FAIR IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN US. AND THIS IS MS. VALERIE COLEMAN. C-O-L-E-M-A-M. YES. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. FIRST OF ALL. I MET ERICA LAST WEEK, I BELIEVE IT WAS. MY NAME IS VALERIE J LEWIS COLEMAN. I AM CEO OF PENN OF THE WRITER. AND SINCE 2005, I'VE BEEN HOSTING CITYWIDE BOOK EVENTS. THE PANDEMIC HIT, I STOPPED AND NOW I'M GONNA RELAUNCH THE, UH, BOOK FAIR. SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THIS TIME. IT'S THE, WHEN I SEE ME, BIPOC CHILDREN'S BOOK FAIR. SO SPECIFICALLY FOR BLACK INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF COLOR, THE AUTHORS ARE BIPOC. THE CHARACTERS OF THEIR BOOKS WILL BE BIPOC WITH THE INTENT OF SERVING THE UNDERREPRESENTED AND UNDERSERVED STUDENTS. [00:05:01] UM, SPECIFICALLY IN THE, UM, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, THERE ARE SEVERAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AS YOU PROBABLY WELL KNOW, DAYTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TROTWOOD AND JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP ARE THE LOWEST RANKING SCHOOLS IN OHIO. SO MY HOPE IS THAT I'M ABLE TO GET THE CHILDREN TO COME, THE PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND ANY CHILDREN ADVOCATE TO COME OUT TO THE EVENT. I'M EXCITED TO SHARE THAT I'VE ALREADY RAISED $3,000 TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY CHILD WHO ATTENDS LEAVES WITH A BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE, RIGHT. STATE UNIVERSITY HAS DONATED, UM, DRAW DRAWSTRING BAGS. AND I HAVE, MY NEPHEW HAS DONATED 250 CHICK-FIL-A GIFT CARDS. AND THERE'S GONNA BE ALL KIND OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE KIDS. SO IT'S REALLY ENCOURAGING THEM TO COME OUT, FALL IN LOVE WITH READING, HOPEFULLY NEGATE THE SUMMER SLIDE TO SOME EXTENT, AND LET THEM CHOOSE THE BOOKS THAT THEY WANT READ, SO THEY'LL BE MORE INCLINED TO READ THEM. AND THAT IS ON SATURDAY, JULY 27TH. THE WEBSITE IS WHEN I SEE ME.COM. AND I HAVE A FEW OF THE SAVE THE DATE POSTCARDS, IF I CAN LEAVE THEM WITH YOU ALL. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. PLEASE DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD. SEE YOU AGAIN. WANTED TO SAY IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU. YOU DO, UM, PROGRAMS AT THE LIBRARY. FIVE LIBRARIES PROGRAMS. YES. AND I, I DO A LOT OF NEWS RELEASES FOR THEM. , SO YOU'VE GOT ONE COMING UP I KNOW. SOON. I THINK, UM, MAYBE IN SEPTEMBER. IS IT? MAY I, WELL, THIS ONE, MAYBE THIS ONE. 'CAUSE I'M AT THE WEST LIBRARY. IT'S GONNA BE AT THE WEST BRANCH LIBRARY. OKAY. SO IT IS, IT IS THAT THEN. OKAY. I JUST SAW AT A, AT A GLANCE ON MY CALENDAR. SO IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU. THANK YOU. NICE TO MEET YOU. WONDERFUL. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SOAP BOX QUICKLY. UM, YOU KNOW, READING IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY, UM, YOUNG READERS BEFORE THIRD GRADE. UM, I BELIEVE OHIO USES SECOND GRADE O-E-E-O-E-A TESTING SCORES TO DECIDE HOW MANY BEDS THEY NEED IN PRISON WHEN THESE CHILDREN TURN 18. UM, STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT IF YOU WERE NOT READING ON GRADE LEVEL, BY THE TIME THAT YOU ARE IN THIRD GRADE, YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER CATCH UP. UM, AND WILL STATISTICALLY HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF ENGAGING IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES. THEY CALL IT THE PRESCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE. UM, AND IT IS A VERY REAL THING. UM, I HAD A YOUNG STUDENT THAT I TUTORED, UM, AT WESTWOOD SCHOOL IN DAYTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS, UM, THAT COULDN'T READ THE WORD BLUE IN THIRD GRADE. AND THEY KEPT PASSING HIM AND PASSING HIM AND PASSING HIM. AND HE IS 22 YEARS OLD AND WILL SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN PRISON. SO WE SAW IT PLAY OUT IN REAL LIFE, AND I JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO LET THAT GO. 'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE I FAILED HIM. SOCIETY FAILED HIM. THE SCHOOLS DISTRICT FAILED HIM. EVERYBODY FAILED THIS CHILD. SO I JUST SOAPBOX I'LL GET BACK OFF OF THAT QUICKLY. BUT I, IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT THING. UM, AND YOUNG READERS HAVE PARENTS THAT PROBABLY ALSO NEED ASSISTANCE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST THEIR CHILDREN TO GET THERE. SO, UM, I KNOW WE HAVE SOME IDEAS AND SOME FOCUS AND SOME THINGS WITH THE METRO LIBRARY. SO I'M REALLY EXCITED, UM, TO HOPEFULLY WORK WITH YOU ON SOME INITIATIVES, UM, IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU FOR COMING. UM, WE WILL MOVE ON IF THERE'S NO MORE I CITIZENS COMMENTS, WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO OLD BUSINESS. WE HAVE, UM, SOME WONDERFUL PEOPLE HERE FOR OUR DEI NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UM, FROM RAMA RAMA RAMA RAMA, AND, UH, MO AND CAROLYN. CAROLYN, I WANTED TO CALL YOU CYNTHIA. I WAS CLOSE. SORRY. PLEASE COME UP . WE'RE GETTING SOME VISITORS. LEMME SAY, UH, THIS IS GOOD EVENING NOW. UH, MO WRIGHT, UH, PRINCIPAL AT RAMA, GLAD TO BE WITH, UH, ALL OF YOU THIS EVENING. UH, GLAD TO KIND OF BE WITH YOU TO SHARE THIS APPROACH. UH, WE ARE EARLY IN THE PROCESS, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. AND SO WE'LL BE BACK, WE IMAGINE AT SEVERAL INTERVALS TO KIND OF, UH, UPDATE YOU ON THE WORK ALONG THE WAY AND HOPEFULLY HAVE YOUR ENGAGEMENT IN THE WORK AS IT IS HAPPENING OVER THESE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. TONIGHT, WE JUST WANTED TO COME REALLY BRIEFLY GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT DOES THE PLANNING ASSESSMENT PROCESS LOOK LIKE FOR, UH, HUBER HEIGHTS, UH, WHAT OUR OUTCOMES WILL LOOK LIKE, AND THEN WHAT WE'LL NEED SOME SUPPORT FROM, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION. WE ALSO, AT THE END OF THIS, WANNA ENGAGE YOU JUST IN A DIALOGUE ABOUT YOUR GOALS FOR THIS WORK AND WHAT CAN MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL FOR YOU. WE GET A CHANCE TO WORK ON ALL KINDS OF NEEDS, ASSESSMENT AND EQUITY WORK ACROSS THE, THE REGION. AND, UH, EVERY COMMUNITY IS DIFFERENT. AND WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT AS IT RELATES TO WHAT DIVERSITY MEANS FOR YOU AND THIS COMMUNITY. WHAT DOES EQUITY LOOK LIKE, BOTH IN THE PROVISION OF CITY SERVICES, BUT FOR EVERYDAY RESIDENTS WHO HAVE TO EXPERIENCE ALL KINDS OF THINGS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THIS COMMUNITY. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU? AND SO PART OF OUR GOAL IS TO GROUND THIS IN THE REALITY OF THE FOLKS, UH, WHO YOU REPRESENT HERE ON THIS COMMISSION. SO THAT'LL REALLY BE OUR WORK TODAY. UH, RAMA IS, UH, A FIRM OUTTA COLUMBUS. [00:10:01] UH, SO WE'RE RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD. WE'VE DONE MANY PROJECTS THAT BROUGHT US THIS WAY, UH, TO THE DAYTON, GREATER DAYTON REGION, AND SO GLAD TO BE BACK. UH, TODAY WE DO A LOT, UH, AS A FIRM, UH, AS INDIVIDUALLY AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL. WE'RE INVOLVED IN ALL KINDS OF EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT, UH, DIVERSITY INCLUSION WORK, UH, EMPLOYEE MENTORING AND THE LIKE, UH, AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING IS A HUGE PART OF OUR BUSINESS. SO WE'VE GOT, UH, QUITE A FEW PLANS GOING ON RIGHT NOW AND QUITE A FEW NEEDS ASSESSMENT. I THINK MOST OF MY TEAM IS IN CLEVELAND TODAY DOING THE, UH, CLEVELAND AREA. UH, MENTAL HEALTH AGENCIES NEEDS ASSESSMENT. AND SO WE GET A CHANCE TO WORK, UH, ACROSS THE, THE, THE, THE COUNTRY IN, IN THIS WORK. AND THEN, UH, AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, WE DO A LOT BY WAY OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND, UH, REALLY HEARING THE VOICES THAT REALLY MAKE AND INFORM WHAT CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES DO, UH, ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY. I, I GIVE YOU THAT BACKDROP, NOT SO MUCH AS A COMMERCIAL, BUT TO GIVE YOU THE LENS BY WHICH WE ENTER THIS WORK. SO MOST OF OUR WORK IS NOT ONLY DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL LEADERS AND, UH, WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS, IT'S ALSO TO MAKE SURE WE ARE COMMUNITY BUILDING ALONG WITH PARTNERS IN VARIOUS WAYS, UM, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY AS IT RELATES TO THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS. HERE IS AN AN OVERVIEW OF THE, KIND OF THE OUTCOMES WE EXPECT FROM YOUR PROCESS HERE IN HUBER HEIGHTS. UH, TO US, THIS IS NOT ABOUT CHECKING A BOX. UH, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF THE BACKDROP OF WHY WE'RE HERE, UH, FROM JEFFREY AND, AND WHERE WE'VE GONE IN TERMS OF OTHER INITIATIVES THAT ARE JUST STARTING OR SOME OF THE WORK YOU'RE CURRENTLY DOING. BUT WE WANT TO ENHANCE THAT. I'M HOPING THAT PART OF YOUR, UH, INTENTION OF THIS PROCESS IS TO REALLY HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY AROUND HOW WE GET BETTER AS IT RELATES TO CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT IN THIS COMMUNITY WHERE FOLKS FEEL VALUED. AND THAT VALUE IS REPRESENTING HOW WE PROVIDE ALL OF THE CITY SERVICES THAT ARE MAKE YOU A GREAT CITY ALREADY. SO, UM, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, WE REALLY WANNA USE THIS PROCESS TO UNDERSTAND OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, YOUR CUSTOMERS, UH, WHAT DO THEY NEED, WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM YOU, AS IT RELATES TO NOT ONLY WHAT THE CITY SERVICES ARE, THAT STUFF MIGHT BE ESTABLISHED, BUT HOW DO THEY WANT TO BE ENGAGED AND WHERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITY, UH, AND FOR EACH OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS TO GET BETTER AS IT RELATES TO MEETING THE, THE NEEDS OF OUR RESIDENTS. WE WANT TO USE THIS AS A PROCESS TO ASSESS, UH, AND ENGAGE OUR STAKEHOLDERS. AND SO WE DON'T JUST MEAN RESIDENTS THERE, BUT YOU HAVE BUSINESSES HERE. YOU HAVE SCHOOLS, YOU HAVE OTHER PARTS OF YOUR COMMUNITY. AND SO ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE WILL HAVE TODAY IS ABOUT WHO ARE THOSE VOICES YOU WANT TO HEAR FROM IN THIS PROCESS? AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE INTENTIONAL ABOUT BRINGING THEM INTO THE PROCESS ALONG THE WAY? UH, WE WANNA ALWAYS POSITION THE COMMUNITY AS EXPERTS. UM, IN TERMS OF THE WAY RAYMOND WORKS, WE TALK ABOUT OUR TAG BEING ENGAGEMENT THAT INSPIRES. AND PART OF THAT FOR US IS MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE VOICES THAT NEED TO BE AT THE TABLE ARE AT THE TABLE. UH, ALONG THE WAY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S AN EQUITY, EQUITY CENTERED APPROACH TO YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT AT THE CENTER OF IT, IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS GET WHAT THEY NEED, HOWEVER THEY NEED IT IN ORDER, UH, IN A WAY THAT'S STILL, UH, EQUITABLE ACROSS THE CITY. AND, UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME STILL MEETS INDIVIDUAL NEEDS ALONG THE WAY AND IS APPROPRIATE FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL FAMILY OR BUSINESS. AND THEN WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT MAKES SENSE FROM A DOCUMENTATION PERSPECTIVE. AT THE END OF THE PROCESS, WE SPEND QUITE A BIT OF TIME ACTUALLY MAKING SURE THAT THE VISUALS, THE DOCUMENTS THAT GET CREATED ARE DONE IN A WAY THAT NOT ONLY APPEAL TO THE DIVERSITY OF THE READING LEVELS, UH, AND THE SOCIOECONOMICS OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO THAT THEY'RE VISUALLY APPEALING AND IN LINE WITH THE BRAND STANDARDS OF, OF THIS COMMUNITY. SO THAT'S KINDA OUR GENERAL APPROACH, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT'S GONNA RESULT IN HERE IN A MINUTE. BUT I WANNA, UM, INTRODUCE YOU TO, UH, A COUPLE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM ARE HERE, UH, MYSELF AS PRINCIPAL AT RAYA, AND I'LL BE SERVING AS LEAD CONSULTANT, UH, LESLIE, WHO LEADS OUR ENGAGEMENT DIVISION. UH, WE'LL BE DOING A LOT OF THE WORK AROUND THIS PROJECT AS WELL. SHELBY, UH, WHO'S, UH, ON OUR TEAM IS A PROJECT COORDINATOR. AND THEN TONIGHT I HAVE, UH, CAROLYN, UH, THURMAN WITH, WITH US. AND SHE'S A AN EXPERIENCED COMMUNITY PLANNER, BUT HAPPY TO LET YOU SAY HELLO TO THE GROUP, UH, CAROLYN, AND WE'LL JUMP BACK INTO THE APPROACH. YEAH. UM, SO MY NAME IS CAROLYN THURMAN. I, UM, CITY PLANNER BY, BY TRADE. I'VE BEEN, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ARENA FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS. REALLY REACHING OUT WITH COMMUNITIES TO IDENTIFY THEIR NEEDS, TO ENSURE THAT THEIR SERVICES ARE IN LINE WITH THEIR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS. YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE YOUR PROCESSES ARE IN LINE WITH WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS, UH, LEADING COMMUNITIES THROUGH CHANGE, CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THROUGH HOW WE ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND, UH, THE TENSIONS AND CONFLICT THAT CAN COME THROUGH THAT. AND REALLY GETTING TO A BETTER PLACE AND GETTING TO A SHARED UNDERSTANDING. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. SO, OH, I HEARD A QUESTION. UM, AND WE'LL HAVE SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS CERTAINLY, UH, HERE IN A MINUTE. HERE'S OUR GENERAL APPROACH, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO FROM AN OUTCOMES PERSPECTIVE. UH, WE WANT TO SEE, UH, IMPROVED CITY SERVICES AS A PART OF THIS. SO PART OF THE WORK THAT CAROLYN WILL BE DOING ON THE TEAM IS TAKING A LOOK AT HOW WE'RE CURRENTLY OPERATING. RELATIVELY SPEAKING, YES, YOU ARE A SMALL COMMUNITY, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERY PERSON WHO EXPERIENCES THE CITY SHOULD, UM, NOT BE ENGAGED IN A WAY THAT'S MEANINGFUL AND RESPECTFUL OF THEIR CULTURE AND WHERE THEY COME FROM. AND SO, YOU'RE PROBABLY DOING OKAY TODAY. AND THIS WORK IS REALLY ABOUT HOW DO WE GET BETTER? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE, AT LEAST IF WE ARE DOING BETTER, WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY TO VALIDATE THAT. AND IF WE'RE NOT DOING AS WELL AS WE COULD BE, HOW DO WE START TO MAKE STEPS TOWARD THAT IMPROVEMENT? WE WANT THIS PROCESS TO ALSO BE ONE THAT ACTUALLY ALLOWS YOU TO PRIORITIZE WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM A DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PERSPECTIVE? THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF [00:15:01] YOU COULD BE DOING. AND QUITE FRANKLY, WHAT WE FIND IS ACTIVITY DOESN'T ALWAYS EQUAL IMPACT. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE YOU ARE ACTUALLY BEING THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHAT ARE THE STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN TO BRING ABOUT THE EQUITY FOCUSED COMMUNITY THAT WE ALL BELIEVE WE CAN THRIVE IN. THIS SHOULD ALSO DRIVE YOUR ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES. IT SHOULD BE THIS GROUP BEING ABLE TO ADVISE THE CITY ON HOW IT OUGHT TO BE USING SOME OF THE DOLLARS THAT IT DOES HAVE UNDER ITS PURVIEW TO MAKE SURE OUR RESIDENTS ARE BEING SERVED, OUR COMMUNITIES ARE BEING SERVED, UH, IN AN EQUITABLE WAY. WE ALSO WANNA SEE IT, UM, DRIVE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE PROGRAMS. UM, ARE THERE THINGS THAT WE AREN'T CURRENTLY DOING? IF I HAD TO DO THE EXERCISE, WILL WE START, STOP, CONTINUE? WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS WE NEED TO START DOING THAT WE MIGHT NOT BE ENGAGED IN TODAY AS A CITY, BUT WE MIGHT WANNA SEE, UM, FROM A DIVERSITY PERSPECTIVE IN THE FUTURE? AND THEN WE CERTAINLY WANT THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS TO BE AN INCREASED LEVEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE CITY ASKING FOLKS WHAT ARE THEIR THOUGHTS? WHAT ARE THE, WHERE CAN THEY BE ENGAGED AND HOW WE CAN SERVE YOU BETTER. SO AT THE BOTTOM THERE, BUILDING OR INCREASING OUR CITY'S CAPACITY TO SERVE, UH, OUR STAKEHOLDERS BETTER IS A, IS A CORE STRATEGY OF ALL THE WORK THAT WE'RE ENGAGED IN. SO HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN REALLY EXPECT FROM THIS PROCESS FROM A DELIVERABLE PERSPECTIVE. UH, WE JUST KICKED OFF OUR LAST WEEK. UH, JEFFREY AND I TEAM, UH, HAD SOME TIME. WE'RE GONNA BE SPENDING A LOT MORE TIME TOGETHER IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, REALLY SCOPING OUT THE FINAL PROJECT PLAN AND THE FINAL SCHEDULE. BUT HERE'S A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT. UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS IS A LOT OF DATA. UH, WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING FOR STUFF, GETTING A SENSE, UH, GETTING TO KNOW THE HUBER HEIGHTS COMMUNITY FROM A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE. WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING, UH, FOR ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AND POLICIES, THINGS THAT REALLY INFORM US ABOUT WHO WE ARE AND WHAT THE CURRENT STATE, UH, IS WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY. WE ALSO WILL BEGIN THAT PROCESS BY HAVING SOME INTERNAL FOCUS GROUPS FOR CITY EMPLOYEES, UM, REALLY FIGURING OUT THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT DEI CURRENTLY LOOKS LIKE, AND THEN ALSO WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO EMPLOY SO THAT THEY ALSO FEEL AT HOME. SO YOU REALLY DO HAVE TWO CUSTOMER BASES HERE. YOU HAVE THE EXTERNAL POPULATION AND RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES THAT MAKE UP THE COMMUNITY. AND THEN YOU HAVE THE FOLKS WHO DO THE WORK EVERY DAY. AND WE DON'T WANT TO FORGET THEM IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING OUT THIS STRATEGY. SO THERE IS REALLY AN INTERNAL AND AN EXTERNAL COMPONENT. WE'LL BE DOING INTERVIEWS ALONG THE WAY. UM, MANY OF YOU WILL PROBABLY BE ENGAGED IN INTERVIEW PROCESSES WITH US AS WELL, INDIVIDUALLY ASKING YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT, UH, THIS WORK AND WHAT YOU WANNA SEE AS OUTCOMES. AND WE'LL, WE'LL START THAT DIALOGUE HERE IN JUST A MOMENT. AND THEN, UH, COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS, UH, WILL BE THE OUTWARDLY FACING PIECES OF THIS. SO HOW DO WE DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT DOES DIVERSITY EVEN MEAN IN THE COMMUNITY? LIKE HUBBERT HEIGHTS, OR WHAT DOES EQUITY MEAN FOR THE FOLKS THAT YOU REPRESENT? AND HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT IT FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE USING BOTH THE, THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AND OUR INFLUENCE TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE AN AGENDA TOWARD CHANGE IF THAT'S WHAT'S NECESSARY. SO REALLY ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN THAT CONVERSATION THROUGHOUT IS A KEY PART OF OUR STRATEGY. ONCE WE FINISH THAT WORK IN THE FALL, WE REALLY WILL MOVE AND, UM, TO THE PRODUCTION OF OUR ACTUAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT. THAT'LL BE, UH, CULMINATING IN SOME PLANNING WORKSHOPS. WE'LL BE CO-CREATING THE, UM, THE, THOSE STRATEGIES, UM, WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS AT, AT THE CITY LEVEL. WE ALSO PLAN FOR THAT TO BE A COMMUNITY EQUITY SUMMIT. SO WE'RE GONNA KIND OF PUT SOME MEAT ON THE BONES INTERNALLY, BUT THEN WE'RE GONNA BE COMING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND SHARING OUT THE STRATEGIES IN DRAFT FORM AND GETTING SOME REACTION TO 'EM. AND IF THEY SAY WE MISSED THE MARK, WE WANNA HEAR THAT. WE WANT TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION. WE WANT TO KEEP THEM, UM, MALLEABLE ENOUGH THAT WE CAN CHANGE THEM UP UNTIL THE POINT WE PRODUCE THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT, WHICH WE WOULD EXPECT TO COME BACK AND PRESENT TO THIS GROUP IN A FORMAL WAY. AT THAT POINT, UH, DURING THAT PRESENTATION, WE WANT YOU TO BE LISTENING TO, UM, DOES IT, DID WE COVER EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT? ARE THERE OTHER NEEDS OUT THERE WE DIDN'T IDENTIFY? AND, AND HOW IT IS? WE CAN ACTUALLY START TO MOVE THAT TOWARD A PLANNING PHASE, WHICH WILL BE THE LAST PIECE OF THIS WORK IN EARLY NEXT YEAR. THE COMMUNITY DEI PLAN IS OUR FINAL DELIVERABLE. UM, THAT'LL BE A SERIES OF PLANNING WORKSHOPS. WE HOPE THERE WILL BE A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM BETWEEN FOLKS WHO REPRESENT THE CITY, UH, AS EMPLOYEES, BUT ALSO, UM, RESIDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIKE YOURSELVES TO BE WORKING ALONGSIDE US AS WE BUILD OUT THE, THE STRATEGIES, THE ACTION ITEMS, AND THE METRICS THAT WILL DRIVE THE COMMUNITY PLAN FOR HUBER HEIGHTS. AND THEN, UM, THAT WILL CULMINATE IN THE PLAN. AND WE'LL WORK, MAKE SURE THERE'S A LEADERSHIP PRESENTATION TO THIS GROUP AND TO OTHER CITY LEADERS AROUND WHAT THE PLAN ACTUALLY RESULTING IN. AND THEN WE'LL BE GIVING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY AROUND A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY. HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE, NOW THAT YOU HAVE DONE THE WORK, ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S IN THE STRATEGY, AND, UH, GIVING YOU SOME TIPS AND TOOLS ABOUT HOW TO COMMUNICATE THAT TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. SO A LOT OF STUFF TO BE DONE, UH, A LOT TO GET DONE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. AND SO WE'RE EXCITED TO GET, UH, STARTED HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS AS WE GET READY TO CLOSE OUT. WE DIDN'T WANNA SPEND THE LAST FEW MINUTES JUST KIND OF DIALOGUE WITH YOU. SO ON THE SCREENS, YOU SEE JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. I'D LOVE TO HAVE SOME INITIAL REACTION FROM THIS GROUP, UH, AROUND, AND YOU CAN REALLY PICK UP ON ANY OF 'EM, UH, FOR THESE NEXT FEW MINUTES IN TERMS OF GIVING US SOME FEEDBACK. BUT ONE OF THOSE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR YOU, AND THIS IS A, A MOMENT YOU CAN BE SELFISH ABOUT YOUR VANTAGE POINT AND MAYBE YOUR MOTIVATIONS FOR BEING A PART OF THE COMMISSION FOR YOU. WHY IS THIS WORK ESSENTIAL TO BUILDING A MORE VIBRANT HUBER HEIGHTS COMMUNITY? WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE WORK OF UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS FROM A DIVERSITY AND EQUITY, UH, AND INCLUSION PERSPECTIVE THAT REALLY MAKE US, UM, A MORE VIBRANT COMMUNITY? WHAT IS THIS WORK ABOUT FOR YOU? SECONDLY, I'D ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT ARE THERE ANY TOP [00:20:01] PRIORITIES YOU'D LIKE TO SEE REPRESENTED IN THAT PLAN WHEN IT'S ALL DONE EARLY NEXT YEAR AND LATER THIS YEAR IN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT? OR DO YOU HAVE INDIVIDUAL GOALS YOU'D LIKE TO SEE REPRESENTED IN THIS WORK? THIRDLY, I'D ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT, UH, ARE THERE KEY STAKEHOLDERS YOU BELIEVE ARE ESSENTIAL TO HEAR FROM IN THIS PROCESS? ARE THERE GROUPS OF PEOPLE? ARE THERE CERTAIN, UH, INFLUENCERS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE NOTE OF AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE TAPPED SOMEWHERE IN THIS PROCESS? I'D LOVE TO HEAR SOME EARLY THOUGHTS ABOUT WHO ARE THOSE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS THAT YOU BELIEVE OUGHT TO BE A PART OF THIS? AND THEN FINALLY, UM, AND THOUGHTS ABOUT AROUND WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO LEARN OR ADDRESS DURING THIS PROCESS? ARE THERE PARTICULAR OUTCOMES YOU WANNA SEE FROM THAT YOU WANT THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO RESULT IN, OR THE PLANNING PROCESS YOU'RE SAYING, HEY, WE DID A GREAT JOB BECAUSE WE ADDRESSED THIS PIECE OF THE, OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS TO DO. SO WITH THAT, I'LL STOP TALKING. FLOOR IS OPEN. LOVE TO HEAR SOME REACTION TO ANY OF THESE. I THINK KAREN'S GONNA MAKE SOME NOTES FOR US AS WELL AROUND YOUR THOUGHTS, BUT ANY REACTIONS TO ANY OF THESE THAT YOU, YOU SHARED WITH US TODAY? I HAVE SURE. A THOUGHT I'D LIKE TO SHARE, PLEASE, UM, FOR THE FIRST BULLET POINT, UM, WHY I THINK THE WORK IS ESSENTIAL. YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIAL TO BUILDING A MORE VIBRANT HUBER HEIGHTS COMMUNITY. UM, SOME OF US RECENTLY ATTENDED, UM, A FORUM, WHAT WAS IT? THE NEW, THE WELCOME DAY. IT WAS A WELCOME DATE AND FORUM OVER AT THE, UH, HUBER HEIGHTS, UH, LIBRARY. AND, UH, IT WAS, I THINK A GENERAL CONSENSUS AMONG, UH, MANY OF THE, UH, RESIDENTS THAT WERE THERE WAS THAT WALL. HUBER HEIGHTS IS A WELCOMING, FRIENDLY COMMUNITY. UH, THERE ARE NEEDS THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN THE WAY OF, UH, HELPING NEW RESIDENTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, UH, IN THE WAY OF WHERE CAN I GO GET MY DRIVER'S LICENSE? WHERE CAN I DO THIS? WHERE CAN I DO THAT? AND I THINK JUST, YOU KNOW, LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT I THINK ARE ESSENTIAL. UM, JUST SHOWING OUR NEW RESIDENTS THAT WE WANT THEM TO LIVE HERE AND WORK HERE AND IN FACT GROW WITH US. YEAH. THAT AMBASSADOR ROLE THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN PLAY BETTER. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU FOR THAT. OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT ANY OF THESE OR OUTCOMES FOR THIS PROCESS FROM ANY OF YOU? I MEAN, WE CAN KIND OF GO DOWN THE LINE. I'LL, I CAN SAY I, I THINK FOR ME, ESPECIALLY AS A SOCIAL WORKER, UM, THE MARGINALIZED GROUPS AND OF A COMMUNITY, I MEAN, TRULY USUALLY FEEL VOICELESS. MM-HMM. . UM, SO FOR ME, I THINK THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO GIVE A VOICE BACK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, THAT MAY FEEL VOICELESS. AND, AND SOME OF THAT COMES WITH ABILITY TO ACCESS PUBLIC MEETINGS. UM, IT COULD EVEN, I MEAN, SIMPLY COME DOWN TO TRANSPORTATION OR BABYSITTING TO BE ABLE TO COME TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT VOICE OR TO FEEL LIKE EVEN IF I TRY TO HAVE THAT VOICE, AM I LISTENED TO. SO FOR ME, I, I FEEL LIKE THIS WORK IS ESSENTIAL, UM, JUST TO GIVE THE LARGER MAJORITY POWER MAKING BODY MM-HMM. , UM, A DIFFERENT LENS ON THE COMMUNITY NEED MM-HMM. , UM, ESPECIALLY THE, THE LOWEST PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY. NOT THE LOWEST, THE MOST MARGINALIZED IS HOW I WANTED TO PUT THAT. MM-HMM. . UM, AND I, I HOPE MY TOP PRIORITIES OR GOALS WOULD JUST BE, UM, ACTIONABLE ITEMS. YEAH. YOU KNOW, UM, POLICY HOUSING IS A, A BIG CONCERN. UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS A BIG CONCERN AND, AND SAFE HOUSING. UM, AS WE ARE BUILDING ALL OF THESE NEW $2,000 A MONTH APARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, ARE WE FORCING OUT THE RESIDENTS THAT NORMALLY WOULD HAVE THE BUYING POWER TO RENT IN THIS COMMUNITY? YEAH. ME BEING ONE OF THEM. UM, . SO, YOU KNOW, SOME ACTIONABLE ITEMS WHEN IT COMES TO HOW THESE THINGS ARE IMPACTING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. UM, AND I THINK STAKEHOLDERS ARE GOING TO BE MORE OF THE NON-PROFITS, UM, SOME OF THOSE HANDS IN THE, THE MIX OF IT OKAY. GROUPS, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN TRY TO GET SOME OF THOSE, YOU KNOW, SOURCED OUT FOR YOU. ABSOLUTELY. UM, BUT THAT'S, I WOULD LIKE, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO LEARN FROM THE COMMUNITY. UM, WE, AND ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN ON THIS COMMISSION SINCE THE BEGINNING, THIS WAS ONE OF OUR FIRST INITIATIVES. UM, AND WE WERE REALLY HOPING TO KIND OF CREATE [00:25:01] A LOT OF OUR WORK BASED ON THIS INFORMATION. RIGHT. RIGHT. AND, AND SO FOR FOUR YEARS WE'VE BEEN KIND OF WAITING FOR THIS. YEAH. SO IT'S TIMELY AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO, TO HAVE THIS IN THE KICKOFF. WELL, I'M GLAD YOU'RE ANXIOUS. THAT'S A GOOD THING. IT MEANS WE ARE GONNA BE READY TO MOVE. I, I I HEARD YOU SAY A COUPLE THINGS THAT YOU'RE OUTSET, WHICH IS AROUND FIRST AROUND ACCESS. RIGHT? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT ALL CITIZENS, ALL RESIDENTS, ALL STAKEHOLDERS GET TO EXPERIENCE THE COMMUNITY IN AN EQUITABLE WAY? RIGHT. UM, SO THAT WAS A HUGE IN WHAT YOU SAID. AND THE SECOND PART, I THINK I WOULD KIND OF ENCAPSULATING THIS NOTION OF EMPOWERMENT, RIGHT? EVEN IF I CAN ATTEND THE MEETING, DO I FEEL THE, THE, UH, ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK UP WITH EQUAL VOICE FROM SOME OTHER FOLKS IN THE ROOM, UH, AND THEN THOSE STAKEHOLDERS ARE GONNA BE REALLY CRITICAL, IMPORTANT. WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE FOLLOW, WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA BE FOLLOWING UP WITH YOU INDIVIDUALLY TO GET SOME OF THOSE SPECIFIC NAMES THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA SEE REPRESENTED BOTH FROM THE ORGANIZATION, THE INDIVIDUALS, UH, AND THEN OUR INTENT FROM THE WHOLE ENTIRE PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THESE ARE ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY ARE THINGS YOU CAN GET DONE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS TO MOVE THE NEEDLE, UH, IN THESE RESPECTIVE PRIORITY AREAS THAT WE'LL DEVELOP TOGETHER. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. ANY OTHERS? YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT I, I'M DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN MAKING SURE THAT THIS PROCESS ENGAGES THE RESIDENTS HERE, HERE. MM-HMM. . OKAY. I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE, THEY DON'T WANNA VOLUNTEER INFORMATION, GIVE INFORMATION, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? LIKE A, LIKE THE CENSUS BUREAU, RIGHT? YEAH. THEY SHOW UP. WE HIGH UHHUH . OKAY. SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN OVERCOME THAT YEAH. TO REALLY BE ABLE TO GET TO FOLKS TO GET THAT INFORMATION BECAUSE, UM, I HAVE BUSINESSES THAT ARE HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT ARE MINE. AND I THINK THAT EVEN WITH A LOT OF OTHER BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES, SOME OF THEM FEEL THAT THEY CAN'T BE SUCCESSFUL HERE. SO I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, ADDRESSED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS COMMUNITY WANT TO EVEN EMBRACE THOSE BUSINESSES. YEAH. RIGHT. YEAH. UM, SO I'M, I'M INTERESTED, YOU KNOW, IN THAT, FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. YEAH. UM, AS WELL, I THINK THAT WHEN YOU MENTIONED KEY STAKEHOLDERS, I THINK OF, I KNOW WE DID A FORUM AND SOMETHING THAT I THINK HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED, BUT I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTHCARE. THE STREET OUT HERE, UM, TROY PIPE MM-HMM. DOESN'T HAVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FROM TAYLORSVILLE TO CHAMBERSBURG. WHY, WHY? THAT SHOULD NEVER BE THE CASE. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE ELDERLY OR WHOEVER DOESN'T HAVE THEIR OWN VEHICLE, HOW WOULD THEY GET TO HEALTHCARE NEEDS? YEAH. YEAH. WELL, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO, TO YOUR LATTER POINT, YOU KNOW, PART OF WHAT I EXPECT FOR A COMMUNITY PLAN AROUND DEI WILL, WILL CONCLUDE IS THERE'S PRO I CAN ALMOST PROBABLY PREDICT THERE'S GONNA PROBABLY BE AN ADVOCACY SECTION OF THAT PLAN. 'CAUSE THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT CITY GOVERNMENT CAN DO, AND THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT YOU CAN INFLUENCE BUT NOT NECESSARILY DIRECTLY DO YOURSELF. AND SO MY SENSE IS THINGS LIKE THAT, YOUR PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM WILL BE, THINGS MIGHT BE OUTSIDE OF CITY GOVERNMENT, BUT WE WANNA PUT IT ON THE LIST AND WE WANT TO GIVE OUR CITY OFFICIALS AN AGENDA TO BE ABLE TO GO AND ENGAGE THE PROPER STAKEHOLDERS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WORK. SO I IMAGINE THAT'S GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT WILL PROBABLY END UP BEING THAT WE CAN USE OUR, OUR, UH, POWER OF INFLUENCE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THE NEEDLE ON SOME THINGS HAVING HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AND IT BEING INFORMED BY COMMUNITY. SO I, I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. YEP. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? UM, I THINK FOR ME, JUST REALLY QUICK, WHEN I LOOK AT THE WORD KEY STAKEHOLDERS, YOU KNOW, I JUST THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHO HAS A VESTED INTEREST? MM-HMM. . AND I DO FEEL THAT THAT'S DEFINITELY THE RESIDENTS. UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY BUSINESS OWNERS. AND I WOULD ALSO SAY, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY MAYOR, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE STAKEHOLDERS. UM, I, I WOULD EXPECT, YOU KNOW, TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, FROM THEM THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT IDEAS ARE BEING BROACHED AND WHAT THEY CAN DO AND WHAT THEY'RE WILLING TO DO, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. MM-HMM. . UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WITH THE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS OF COURSE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS? WHAT ARE THEIR WANTS? WHAT ARE THEIR DESIRES, YOU KNOW, TO CONTINUE BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND THEN WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP THEM YEAH. ACHIEVE THOSE THINGS. SO YEAH. GREAT POINT ON, ON THE CITY OFFICIALS PIECE. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THOSE EARLY INTERVIEWS ARE GONNA BE IMPORTANT. THOSE KEY LEADERS, WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S ON THEIR MIND ALREADY AROUND THESE TOPICS. WHAT DO THEY SEE AS BARRIERS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING? AND THEN WE CAN CO-CREATE WITH THE COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS FOR THAT. OR IF THEY SAY, HEY, I DON'T KNOW, I'M OPEN TO SOLUTIONS, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO HERE. THAT'S A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE THOSE COMMUNITIES CONVERSATIONS AND DIALOGUES AND, AND CO-CREATE WITH THE COMMUNITY WHAT THOSE SOLUTIONS COULD LOOK LIKE. SO THAT'S A KEY PART OF THE PROCESS, I THINK YOU'LL SEE UNFOLDING IN PROBABLY TOWARDS THE END OF THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL. SO. VERY GOOD. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? I THINK I GOT ONE MORE MINUTE, BUT ANY OTHER, UH, THOUGHTS ON, I CAN STAY HERE AS LONG AS YOU WANT. STAY HERE, BUT JEFFREY DID GIMME ME A TIMEFRAME. I'M TRYING TO STICK [00:30:01] IN IT. , WE ALSO STARTED. SO ALL GOOD. YOU ALL GOOD? WE'RE GONNA BLOW THROUGH THE AGENDA TONIGHT, DON'T WORRY. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. YEAH. AND, AND SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE VERY MUCH BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO. AND CERTAINLY WE'RE OPEN. THIS PROCESS WILL NEVER BE CLOSED TO YOU. I MEAN, IT'S AS SIMPLE AS, UH, IN THIS NEXT SLIDE I'LL PUT UP CERTAINLY OUR CONTACT INFORMATION IF YOU EVER WANT TO SHOOT US A NOTE DIRECTLY. BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, GIVE US A CALL DIRECTLY. JEFFREY WILL BE OUR CONSTANT LIAISON ON THIS PROCESS. SHOOT, SHOOT HIM A NOTE OR GIVE HIM FEEDBACK. IT'S GONNA COME DIRECTLY TO US. WE'RE GONNA HAVE BIWEEKLY, I BELIEVE PROJECT MEETINGS ALREADY SET UP. SO THE, THE INFORMATION FLOW. AND WE EXPECT TO BE BACK BEFORE YOU AT SEVERAL INTERVALS ALONG THE WAY TO UPDATE YOU, TO ASK YOU TO, UM, YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT, UH, METHODOLOGIES FOR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT HERE. WE'VE GOT QUITE A FEW. BUT WHAT WORKS IN A COMMUNITY LIKE THIS, WE'RE GONNA WANT TO HEAR FROM THAT. AND IF WE'RE NOT SEEING A CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC REPRESENTED IN WHO WE ARE, WHO IS COMING OUT, WE'RE GONNA WANNA COME BACK AND DIALOGUE WITH YOU ABOUT WHERE DO THOSE FOLKS NATURALLY OCCUR SO WE CAN GO TO WHERE THEY ARE VERSUS TRYING TO HAVE 'EM COME TO US. THAT'S A BIG PART OF OUR KIND OF COMPANY PHILOSOPHY AND HOW WE WORK. SO, UH, IT WON'T BE THE LAST TIME WE'LL BE DIALOGUING AROUND THIS, BUT ANY FINAL COMMENTS AS I AS WE CLOSE? COREY BYRAM, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING? GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO SPEAK . ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE THANK ABSOLUTELY. COMING FROM COLUMBUS FOR THIS. IT'S A LITTLE LESS HECTIC AT THIS HOUR AT LEAST. YEAH. WE BE ABLE TO GET THOSE SLIDES. YOU WANT THE SLIDE? CAN WE GET THOSE SLIDES? YEAH. YEAH. I GOT, YEAH, I GOT YOU. OKAY. MOVING ALONG. ERIC. JUNETEENTH UPDATES. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. YOU'RE MARRIED IN THE HOUR. OKAY. LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME FUN STUFF. ALL RIGHT. ALL. SO YOU SHOULD HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU A COUPLE THINGS, RIGHT? ONE, YOU HAVE THE, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE AGENDA. YEP. LIST OF EVENTS. OKAY. SO GET YOURSELF FAMILIAR WITH THAT. YOU'LL SEE THE FOOD TRUCKS UP THERE, YOU'LL SEE THE RETAIL VENDORS. UH, THANK YOU GUYS FOR SIGNING UP AND GETTING YOUR VOLUNTEER SLOTS TOGETHER. SO THAT'S A, A BIG HELP. UM, WE DO HAVE SOME OF THESE FLYERS FOR YOU GUYS TO PICK UP. I KNOW YOU ASKED THAT YOU WANTED TO PASS SOME OF THESE OUT AND PUT THESE OUT PLACES. SO I BELIEVE THEY'RE AT THE END OF THE DESK THERE. SO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE NECESSARY COPIES YOU NEED PICKED UP. AND ON YOUR WAY OUT TODAY, WE HAVE YARD SIGNS FOR YOU. SO GRAB A YARD SIGN AND PUT IT IN YOUR YARD. HOW MANY DID WE GET OF THOSE? WE HAVE 40. AND WE'RE GONNA PLACE SOME AROUND DIFFERENT PLACES AROUND THE PARKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO IF WE WANNA TAKE MORE THAN ONE, WE CAN YES. , YOU CAN HAVE MINE, BECAUSE I CAN'T PUT THOSE, I CAN'T PUT THAT. YOU CAN'T PUT, OKAY, THAT'S FINE. YEP. WE HAVE, WE HAVE 40. OKAY. OKAY. SO I JUST WONDERED. EACH ONE OF US SHOULD TAKE ONE. I THINK, UH, JEFFREY'S GONNA HELP US OUT TO MAKE SURE, UH, COUNCIL GETS ONE. YEP. TONY SAID THAT'S FINE. SO I'LL LEAVE THE NINE FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS. EXACTLY. AND THEN I THINK SARAH'S GONNA PLACE SOME IN THE PARKS FOR US. RIGHT? GREAT. OKAY. SO IF YOU WANNA GET YOUR EXTRA ONE, THAT'S FINE. , WE DO NEED TO GRAB, UH, ONE FOR, WE'LL HAVE TO DIVVY THOSE UP ON WHO'S NOT HERE TO MAKE SURE THAT GET THERE. YEAH. SO WE CAN DISCUSS THAT. UM, THIS EVENING. UH, LET'S SEE HERE. LAST THING I WANT TO DO IS GO OVER THE MAP SO YOU GUYS CAN SEE WHERE, HOW THINGS ARE GONNA BE SET UP AND LAID OUT. UM, SO CORY'S GONNA BE WORKING WITH US WITH THE POLICE EXPLORER KIDS. SO THEY'LL KIND OF HELP DIRECT TRAFFIC INTO THE AREA, INTO THE DIFFERENT PARKING SPACES. SO YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE, SO THE AREAS THAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR, WHERE YOU LOOK ON THE MAP, YOU SEE THE RED DOT PERSON, THAT'S YOU. OKAY. THAT'S WHERE YOU ARE. ALL RIGHT. SO YOU'LL SEE IN THE AREA WHERE WE HAVE THE FOOD TRUCK SET UP, AND WE HAVE THE VENDORS THAT ARE SET UP. AND THEN WHERE YOU GOT THE WHITE TENT THERE, THAT'S THAT BIG TENT THAT'LL BE IN THE BACK FOR FOLKS THAT WANNA, UH, KIND OF SEEK A LITTLE SHADE. SO EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE WORKING YOUR AREA, WHAT I'LL HAVE YOU DO IS CHECK IN WITH THE FOLKS THAT ARE IN YOUR AREA. SO IF YOU'RE THE RETAIL VENDOR, CHECK IN WITH YOUR FOLKS, MAKE SURE THEY'RE GOOD, THEY'RE OKAY. AND THEN ALL OF US HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE ON CROWD PATROL. MM-HMM. . OKAY. IF YOU NOTICE THE LITTLE, UM, WHITE FLAGS THAT ARE THAT LITTLE PERIMETER THAT'S THERE, BECAUSE WE ARE SELLING ALCOHOL THERE, ALCOHOL HAS TO STAY WITHIN THAT WHITE PERIMETER. JUST A QUICK UPDATE. WE'RE HAVING ALCOHOL SALES AT JUNETEENTH. THAT WASN'T IN THE LAST MEETING. YEAH. SO THAT HASN'T BEEN PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE. WE'RE HAVING ALCOHOL SALES. UH, THE CHAMBER'S GONNA DO IT. YEAH. SO JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE. YEAH. I SAW THE LITTLE BEER THING. YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S A NEW UPDATE WHERE IT'S [00:35:01] GONNA BE, IT'S NOT JUST BEER. SO THAT'S, HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THEM SOME GOOD SALES. BEER AND WINE. IT'S BEER AND WINE. SOME OF THOSE KIND OF OTHER DRINKS OR WHATEVER. MIXED. MIXED DRINKS, ONES THAT COME IN A CAN. SO QUICK UPDATE. UM, SO GUYS SAID YOU WERE OKAY WITH THAT? I IT WAS ME. YES. SINGULAR. ALL YOU. OH, OKAY. YOU, THAT'S WHY I GOT . ALL RIGHT. SO THE WHITE LINE SHOWS WHERE THE ALCOHOL HAS TO STAY. MM-HMM. WITHIN THAT PERIMETER. SO THAT'S GONNA BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL OF US TO HELP WITH THAT. OKAY. WE GOOD? MM-HMM. . SO THEY DO THEIR OWN IDS, THEY TAKE CARE OF ALL OF THAT. WE'RE JUST MAKING SURE THE RISK SPANS ALL THAT. WE'RE JUST HELPING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY STAY OKAY. IF WITHIN THE WHITE PERIMETER. OKAY. THEY HAVE THE REST. GREAT. OKAY. UM, HOW ARE WE KEEPING COUNT OF PEOPLE COMING? YEAH, THAT WAS SOMETHING I WAS THINKING ABOUT, BUT YEAH, ME AND SARAH, WE HAVE THE CLICKERS. THAT'S WHAT I FIGURED WE'LL TRY TO DO. UM, I'M THINK I'M THINKING THAT I'M, BECAUSE WE HAVE THOSE ENTRANCES BLOCKED OFF, RIGHT? THE TWO ENTRANCES AND WE CAN TRY TO MAKE PEOPLE COME IN THROUGH THERE, FUNNEL THROUGH, I MEAN, WE'LL DO OUR BEST. YEAH. BELIEVE THE CLICKERS, RIGHT. EVERY YEAR WE, EVERY YEAR WE TRY IT AND IT DOESN'T TRY, WE TRY TO MAKE THE BEST CHECK. WE JUST MAKE EVERYBODY COUNT ONE BY ONE THROUGH THE WHOLE. JUST KIDDING. . WELL, YOU CAN, YOU CAN DO A LITTLE COUNTING EXERCISE IF YOU WANT. NO, I'M GOOD. OKAY. AND THEN THAT ONE WHOLE PARKING LOT IS JUST HANDICAP AND VENDOR PARKING. SO THAT'S HANDICAP VENDOR PARKING THAT'S THERE. UM, EVERYONE ELSE IS PARKING OVER ON, ON THE OTHER SIDE C SIDE. RIGHT. THAT'S FINE. MM-HMM. AND SOMEBODY'S MANNING THAT. YEAH. THAT'S WHERE THE POLICE EXPLORER KIDS ARE GONNA BE. THAT'S A GREAT PLACE FOR 'EM. SO GOT GET A COUPLE OF THE REAL, THE, THE ACTUAL OFFICERS TO YEAH, WE GOT THAT. REALLY ENFORCE THAT PARKING LOT. SO, WONDERFUL. ARE THERE ANY, THANK YOU FOR PUTTING ALL THE HARD, ARE THERE QUESTIONS? UH, JEFFREY'S GOT THE PROCLAMATION SQUARED AWAY. THE UH, DID YOU GET MY HEAD? THE ERRORS FIXED IN THERE. HE'S GOT THAT. THANK YOU. UM, AND IF YOU GUYS HAVE SOME, SO I THINK RIGHT NOW WE GOT CAMERON RIGHT AS A VOLUNTEER. SO JEFFREY, I THINK WE MAY JUST NEED FOUR OF THE VOLUNTEER BADGES. OKAY. AND LANYARDS FOR EVERYBODY. YEP. RIGHT. WELL, HE'S GOT LANYARDS FOR EVERYBODY, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH TO SAME FOR THE VOLUNTEERS. SO I THINK ABER, YEAH, ABRAHAM DOESN'T HAVE ONE. AND THEN I HAVE TO RE WE HAVE TO GET SARAH TO REDO YOURS, I THINK TO SPELL IT. AND COREY'S I THINK TOO, SO YEAH. COREY WASN'T SPELLED RIGHT. WE'LL, I'LL, I'LL GET SARAH TO HELP ME OUT ON THAT. I MIGHT STILL HAVE MINE, HONESTLY, FROM OUR LAST EVENT. I KNOW I HAVE MINE FROM LIKE, IF YOU, IF YOU, WHAT'S UP? WHERE HE'S DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS YEAR? HOW'S HE'S DOING? THE, THE UH, THE LANYARD ONE? YEAH. YEAH. THE ONE THAT YOU GUYS HAD FOR MMOK. DID WE HAVE 'EM FOR THERE TOO? YEAH. GUYS, HAVE WE HAD 'EM FOR LAST JUNETEENTH? YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. SO I THINK YOURS, YOUR NAME WAS SPELLED WRONG, COREY. HIS NAME WAS SPELLED WRONG. ABRAHAM, WE DIDN'T HAVE ONE. IT HAS, BUT IF YOU GUYS DO HAVE YOURS THAT ISN'T MESSED UP, LET ME KNOW. OKAY. RATHER LET ME QUICK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOU, IF YOU NEED, IF YOU NEED ONE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. YES MA'AM. I ALWAYS HAVE QUESTIONS. THAT'S OKAY. THAT'S OKAY. OKAY. UH, WHAT IS MYA? SIGNED AREA. THANKS AGAIN. DID YOU SIGN, YOU SIGNED UP TO THE TEXT JUST TO ASSIGN YOURSELF TO AN AREA? UM, I THINK I TEXTED. OH, VENDOR AREA AND INFO TENT. YEAH. I SAID I COULD MAKE WHAT I MEAN, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I DON'T CARE. YEAH. VENDOR AREA AND INFO TENT, WHICH IS ALL BASICALLY THE SAME. YEAH. I GUESS MY WHOLE AREA THERE. JUST SHOW UP AT WHAT, YOU KNOW WHAT, ONE O'CLOCK AND JUST HANG OUT. WELL IF YOU'RE, WHAT AREA YOU GOT? 'CAUSE I GOT THE TIME SLOTS ON THERE. WHICH ONE DID YOU SIGN UP FOR? UM, I CAN, I CAN I KIND OF COINCIDE OR YOUR FLEXIBLE TO DO IT ALL THEN WE CAN, YOU CAN COME EARLIER. YEAH. I MEAN I'LL COME WHENEVER, BUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW. I CAN EITHER DO THE VENDOR AREA FIVE TO EIGHT OR INFO TENT LIKE THREE TO SIX. I CAN COME OVERLAP IF YOU WANT. I DON'T KNOW. OKAY. WHY DON'T WE ALL JUST PLAN ON BEING THERE BETWEEN TWO AND THREE. THAT'S FINE. YEAH. AND THEN WE'LL JUST, I'LL BE THERE EARLY. YEAH. IF I'M SHOWING UP EARLY ANYWAYS, FINE. JUST TO KIND OF DO WHATEVER. BUT IT'S GENERALLY HER CATS BEFORE AN EVENT ANYWAY, SO I CAN BOUNCE BETWEEN THE VENDOR AND THE, THE TENT IF THAT WORKS. THAT ABSOLUTE. IS THAT GOOD? YEAH. OKAY. COOL. WE GOT IT COVERED. WE'LL GET YOU OKAY. AREAS. UM, DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE SOME FLYERS AND GO TO THE FARMER'S MARKET NEXT SATURDAY AND PASS SOME OUT? YES, PLEASE. EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO GO, SARAH, GO THIS SATURDAY. I'M, I'M GONNA BE THERE, SO I'LL BE AT THE FARMER'S MARKET THIS SATURDAY, SO I'LL, I'LL TAKE SOME WATER TOO. THIS SATURDAY IS THE EIGHTH, UH, MEXICAN, UH, COMMUNITY IS COMING [00:40:01] TO THE FARMER'S MARKET. THIS, YEAH. THIS DAY. GREAT. YEAH. BRING SOME EXTRAS, SEND THOSE WITH THEM TOO. OKAY. SO NEXT, THEN I CAN RUN UP AND JUST KIND OF HANG OUT PAST THEM OUT LAST MINUTE. WOULD THAT BE OKAY? THAT'S FINE WITH US. YEAH. COOL. YEAH. YEAH. THAT'S GOOD. OKAY. YEAH. UM, THEN MY LAST QUESTION WAS, UM, LAST YEAR WE HAD A COOLER FOR US FOR WATER AND STUFF. ARE WE GONNA HAVE THAT AGAIN? SO, YEAH, THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING I'M CHECKING. I DON'T SEE HOW THAT WOULDN'T BE. I THINK THAT'S ALL IN THE BACK OF THAT. I WANTED TO SAY THAT EARLIER. IN THE BACK OF THE AMPHITHEATER IN THAT ROOM IS A COOLER OPEN. THE ICE, THE COOLER AND THE WATER I THINK ARE ALL IN THERE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. I'M PRETTY SURE THE ICE IS, THERE'S AN ICE MACHINE IN THERE TOO. I COULD BE. I'VE NEVER, I'VE NEVER BEEN UP THERE, BUT I, THERE'S ICE MACHINE. THE WATER'S IN THERE IN THE COOLERS. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE ICE CAME FROM. ICE IS UP BY THE RESTROOMS AND ITS THE BAGS. OKAY. OKAY. I THINK IT WAS AN ICE MACHINE. OKAY. IT'S ENCLOSED ICE BOX. YEAH, THE KEY. OKAY. AND THEN YOU GUYS THINK THAT THERE'S THE COOLER. IT SHOULD BE A COOLER UP THERE. THERE'S THE BIG WHITE COOLERS IN THERE. THEY WERE LIKE, JUST KEPT THAT UNDER OUR FOR WATER AND STUFF. I THINK I GOT A GATORADE LAST YEAR 'CAUSE WE MAYBE HELPED BRING GATORADE . YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN, WE'LL JUST PUT THAT IN WHERE THE FOOD'S GONNA BE AND THEN AS NEEDED, WE CAN JUST GO BACK THERE AND GET IT. 'CAUSE I THINK KIND OF WHAT HAPPENED IS IT COMES TO COMMUNITY CHEST. OH IT DOES. YEAH. A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE ASKING FOR, AND SINCE WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE, UH, THESE DONATED FOOD FOR THE VOLUNTEERS AND FOR THE BANDS, THE MUSICIANS. SO THEY HAVE FOOD, RIGHT? RIGHT. THEY HAVE FOOD THIS YEAR, SO WE'LL JUST PUT IT BACK THERE WITH THAT. AND SO THAT WAS A, AN AREA WE HADN'T BEEN, ERIC WAS ON THAT ONE. IT WAS SOMETHING WE HAD TALKED ABOUT. I HAD THOUGHT ABOUT DOING LIKE VOUCHERS FOR FOOD FROM THE FOOD VENDORS, BUT HE GOT, UH, THE THANK YOU TO THE OWNER OF LEE'S, UM, FOR BEING JUST AN AMAZING COMMUNITY PARTNER IN SO MANY WAYS AND DONATING FOOD. SO, OKAY. SORRY. DIDN'T MEAN TO STEP ON YOUR UPDATE. ERIC, GO AHEAD. THAT'S IT. YEAH. WHAT ELSE YOU GOT? WELL, UM, ERIC, WE GOT ONE LAST THING TO TALK ABOUT. DR. CYNTHIA. MM-HMM. . UM, THE GIFT. YES. WHAT'S WRONG? UM, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, SHE DID NOT WANT TO LIKE AN HONORARY OR SOMETHING, TAKE ANYTHING. SO I THINK THAT AS A COMMISSION, I THINK SHE'S BEEN, SHE'S DONE A GOOD JOB TO HELP. MM-HMM. PROVIDE EDUCATION FOR US. SHE'S PROVIDING, UM, SOME EDUCATION AT THE PROGRAM. SHE CAME AND DID A COMMERCIAL FOR US THAT WE BE PUTTING OUT TO DO. SO I THINK THAT AS A COMMISSION, UM, OUT OF OUR BUDGET, I THINK WE SHOULD TRY TO, UM, AT LEAST PURCHASE A SMALL GIFT FOR HER. LIKE OF WHAT? LIKE WELL, SO, SO WE HAD THOUGHT OF THE GIFT CARD, BUT, BUT WE, THEY WERE TELLING ME MORE THINGS LIKE A GIFT BA LIKE FLOWERS OR A FRUIT BASKET CAN, LIKE SOME OF THOSE KIND OF THINGS. YEAH. UM, ABSOLUTELY. LIKE THAT JUST, I MEAN LIKE, I'M JUST WHATEVER. . ALL RIGHT. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU, THERE'S MONEY IN THE BUDGET, CORRECT? YES. YEAH. YEAH. SO IF IT'S, YOU GUYS WANNA PRESENT IT AT THE, AT ON, AT THE JUNE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO WE'LL GET IT. I'LL TRY TO MAKE SURE WE CAN GET THAT ON THAT FRIDAY OR IF I CAN PICK IT UP THAT SATURDAY, THEN WE'LL HAVE IT ON SUNDAY. PICK SOMETHING UP SATURDAY HERE. OKAY. I'LL LET YOU GUYS KNOW. IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL. SO IF ANYTHING, ERIC, UH, ERIC, I'LL BE IN, UH, COMMUNICATIONS WITH YOU. TRY TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU GUYS WANT TO GO AHEAD AND DO AND THEN IT'S PRESENTED AFTER. OKAY. UH, SHE DOES HER SPEECH OR HER, WHAT IS JUNETEENTH? MM-HMM. . UM, IT WOULD BE MY SUGGESTION VERSUS CUT FLOWERS TO DO LIKE A LIVE PLANT THAT SHE CAN KEEP . YEP. THAT'S JUST ME BEING A PLANT PERSON. NOBODY WANTS PLANTS THAT ARE GONNA DIE IN THREE DAYS ELSE. I'M MISSING JEFFREY. UM, UM, I ASSUME YOU'RE, 'CAUSE I KNOW ME, YOU AND SARAH WALKED IT, TRY TO GET A LAYOUT AND THEN I KNOW IT'S THE IDEA THAT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S NINE OF YOU GUYS TO KIND OF VOLUNTEER PLUS ME AND SARAH, THEY'RE SIGNING UP FOR THOSE. YEP. YEAH. AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, WE OBVIOUSLY WANT YOU GUYS TO KIND OF ENJOY MM-HMM. . SO, OKAY. SO I FIGURED YOU GUYS KIND OF HANDLED THAT. LIKE, HEY, YOU GUYS CAN KIND OF RUN SHIFTS SO YOU GUYS ARE ENJOYING AND NOT NECESSARILY JUST THERE TO KIND OF VOLUNTEER. SO WE ALL END UP CONGREGATING UNDER THAT INFORMATION TENT BY THE END OF IT ANYWAY. SO, UM, OH YES, THERE WAS ONE LAST THING. SO OBVIOUSLY WITH, UM, UH, RAMA BEING HERE, I'M, I'M TRYING TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME INFORMATION, UM, PAMPHLETS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT JUST TO KIND OF BRING [00:45:01] THE HEADS UP TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT. YEAH. SO I'M HOPEFUL I CAN KIND OF GET THEM, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A MEETING COME THE 13TH NEXT WEEK, SO IF HE CAN KIND OF GET ME SOMETHING SOONER RATHER THAN LATER FOR THE ACTUAL, UM, FESTIVAL, I'LL LET YOU GUYS KNOW AND WE'LL BRING THAT OUT THERE AS WELL TO KIND OF PASS THAT AS WELL. WHAT HE'S ALSO TALKING ABOUT, IF WE CAN GET TOGETHER THE BROCHURE FOR OH, THAT AS WELL TOO. MM-HMM. THEREFORE WHEN HE TAKES THAT TO PRINT, HE CAN TAKE BOTH OF THEM. YEAH. OKAY. WE'LL TRY TO PULL IT OUT. YEAH. UH, I SHOULD HAVE SOME TIME THIS WEEKEND. OKAY. YEAH. I, I DO HAVE TIME THIS WEEKEND. I'LL PUT IT THAT WAY. I'VE GOT LIKE A FOUR SECOND BREAK AND SOCCER SCHEDULES. UM, OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE FOR JUNETEENTH? QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS FOR CONCERNS? WHAT TIME DO THEY SET UP OUR GIANT WEDDING TENT? I THINK THAT'S, WE'LL HAVE TO CHECK WITH SARAH. I THINK THAT'S THE DAY BEFORE, ISN'T IT? DAY BEFORE? I WANT TO SAY PROBABLY. YEAH. WELL, YEAH, THAT'S A SARAH QUESTION. EH, JUST WONDERED. IT DOESN'T REALLY NEED TO BE ANSWERED. I WAS JUST CURIOUS. OKAY. UM, I'M GONNA TABLE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL. I'M NOT COM, COM COMFORTABLE. GOODNESS. ADULT WORDS. I'M NOT COMFORTABLE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION WITH JUST FIVE OF US HERE. UM, JUST DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT'S AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO START TACKLING MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL. I DID HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR JEFFREY, LIKE IF WE TOOK IT OUT OF OUR HANDS, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? DOES THE CITY SET THE DATE? WHO GETS THE BUDGET? YOU KNOW, SO THOSE ARE QUESTIONS WE'LL HAVE ANSWERED HOPEFULLY IN AUGUST. AND THEN WE CAN MAKE A DECISION. UM, I'M SORRY, CUT OFF. GO AHEAD PLEASE. YEAH, YEAH, FOR SURE. UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M OBVIOUSLY THINKING ABOUT AS WELL AND THEN I WOULD, HOW DO I WANNA SAY THIS DELICATELY I GUESS UNDERSTANDING THAT YES, THESE ARE, LIKE THE IDEA MOVING FORWARD IS YOU GUYS WILL TAKE BACK MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL AND, AND WE'VE TALKED, YOU KNOW, ME AND AT LEAST ME AND BYRON AND ABRAHAM AND SARAH AS WELL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OTHER EVENTS RIGHT? THAT WE WOULD POTENTIALLY WANNA DO WITHIN THE CITY WITH THE SUPPORT AND HELP OF, UM, THE COMMISSION AS WELL. SO IN MY MIND THAT IS JUST THE MEANS FOR AN INCREASED BUDGET AND UM, I DON'T THINK WE'RE, WE COULDN'T POSSIBLY THINK TO DO THAT AT JUST THE 15,000 THAT WE HAD. UM, MAYBE THAT'S LIKE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT OBVIOUSLY WHEN BUDGET IS, YOU KNOW, APPROACHING SOONER. UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA MISS, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE NOT GONNA HAVE A JULY MEETING. AUGUST IS THERE, AND THEN BEFORE, YOU KNOW, IT'S SEPTEMBER OCTOBER BUDGET TIME IS, THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION. CORRECT. THANK YOU. YES. SO IT IS IN MY MIND THE IDEA OF AN INCREASED BUDGET. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER LOOKS LIKE. OKAY. BUT I MEAN, THAT'S JUST CONVERSATION THAT I HAVE TO TALK WITH SARAH WITH. AND I DON'T KNOW IF SARAH HAS IT IN HER BUDGET TO KIND OF LIKE, UH, COMP LIKE COMPENSATE SOME OF THE EXPENSES AS WELL. MM-HMM. . UM, BUT IT'S, IT IS JUST THE IDEA AND THE OTHER PLANS THAT I, I WAS THINKING ABOUT FOR THE, UH, UM, COMMISSION AS WELL, RATHER THAN WE DO. LIKE, AND IT'S JUST ME FREELANCING, YOU KNOW, RATHER THAN US DOING A MARCH FOR MLK DAY, MAYBE WE THINK ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE A, A DINNER. LIKE WELL, THAT'S RIGHT. YOU KNOW, SO THAT IS THE CONVERSATION. YES. SO, SO YOU KNOW, THERE MAYBE NOT FOR NEXT YEAR 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE AUGUST, BUT, UH RIGHT. SO, SO DEFINITELY FOR 2026. YEAH. I THINK THE IDEA IS TO GO BACK TO THE DINNER, RIGHT. AND THAT WAY WE CAN ATTEND DAYTON'S. THAT WAS THE BIG PART OF THAT. GOTCHA. YES. BIG MLK WALK IN DAYTON. AND, AND I THINK IF I'M RIGHT, IF, IF THAT'S THE PLAN FOR YOU GUYS TO KIND OF WANNA SWITCH TO DO A DINNER BY 26, I WANNA SAY THAT THE NEW GOVERNANCE CENTER WOULD BE BUILT BY THAT POINT. AND I, I WANNA SAY THAT THE SPACE IN THERE FOR THAT, I COULD BE WRONG. THAT'S AN IDEA. I LIKE THAT. BUT BECAUSE THAT SPACE WAS GONNA BE AN ISSUE, WELL WE DON'T HAVE YEAH, YEAH. SO, SO JUST, I GET IT. YEAH. SO JUST LIKE CONVERSATION TO KIND OF HAVE AND, AND, AND THINK ABOUT LIKE, AS YOU GUYS KIND OF THINK ABOUT WHAT IT IS, YOU KNOW, OR HOW YOU GUYS WANT TO KIND OF GO ABOUT IT AND YES. TO, TO KIND OF ANSWER YOUR POINT. I, I, I'M THINKING THAT IT WOULD BE JUST COMING OUTTA YOUR GUYS' BUDGET, BUT THEN AT THE IDEA IS LIKE, MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST KIND OF BALLOON THAT AND AGAIN, MAYBE OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR JUST SAY, HEY, LET'S KEEP IT AT 15 AND IF YOU GUYS NEED MORE MONEY, WE'LL APPROPRIATE FUNDS. SO WE HAVEN'T BLOWN THE BUDGET YET, SO IT'S HARD TO SAY IT. YEAH. IT'S HARD TO JUSTIFY AN INCREASE WHEN WE HAVEN'T SPENT OUR BUDGET ONCE. CORRECT. YET , SO I GET IT. I MEAN THAT'S DEFINITELY A, A BRIDGE WE CAN CROSS WHEN WE GET THERE FOR SURE. UM, SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER FOR NEXT YEAR JUNETEENTH IS A THURSDAY. I THINK WE SHOULD REALLY CONSIDER MOVING THE FESTIVAL TO THAT SATURDAY, THE JUNETEENTH MUSIC FESTIVAL TO LIKE THE 21ST. [00:50:01] UM, OR EVEN THE FRIDAY, I DON'T KNOW. UM, AND THEN LOOK AT EARLIER IN THE MONTH FOR THE MULTICULTURAL. BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST STUFF TO CONSIDER FOR NEXT MEETING IN AUGUST. OKAY. I DON'T WANNA KEEP TAKING YOUR GUYS' FATHER'S DAY AND WE KEEP TAKING YOUR FATHER'S DAY. SO EVERY YEAR AND ALL OF US HAVE TO WORK MONDAY AFTER THIS JUNETEENTH, SO GOOD TIMES. OKAY. MOVING ALONG. UM, THE E-E-O-D-E-E-O-C DATA FROM THE CITY, THE ABILITY TO COLLECT THAT DATA. UM, ARE WE CLOSER OR, SO LET ME, LET ME PULL MY NOTES REAL QUICK. SO I TALKED TO OUR HR DIRECTOR, UM, FOR THE, THE ASK, UM, FROM THE LAST MEETING. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, I THINK YOU'VE BEEN TOLD THIS MULTIPLE TIMES, WE CAN'T DO THAT LIKE RIGHT NOW. UM, WHAT HR IS SAYING IS HR IS STILL IN THE PROCESS OF FINDING A SOLUTION TO EMBED EEOC STATISTICS WITHIN OUR APPLICATIONS. UM, THE UNDERSTANDING IS APPLICANTS WOULD ONLY VOLUNTEER THIS INFORMATION. HR UH, WOULD STILL LIKE THE PROCESS TO BE ANONYMOUS IN THE SENSE OF EOC POINTED INFORMATION AS IT MANDATORY. THIS IS A, LIKE, UH, THIS IS A LIKELIHOOD THE FINDING COULD BE, UH, SKEWED. SO, WELL, IT, IT, IT CAN NEVER BE REQUIRED. I MEAN, IT IS A VOLUNTARY STATEMENT EVERY TIME YOU DO AN EOC STATEMENT. MM-HMM. IT IS VOLUNTARY STATEMENT. UM, AND, AND BEFORE, AND I'M SORRY ABOUT CUTTING YOU OFF. NO, YOU'RE FINE. AND, AND, AND THIS IS SOME OF THE LIKE, AND THIS IS SOME OF THE ISSUE OR THIS IS ONE OF THE LIKE TOPIC AREAS THAT I TALKED TO MO ABOUT, ABOUT HEY, CAN WE FIND WAYS OR ALTERNATIVES TO KIND OF GATHER THAT INFORMATION? YEAH. I MEAN I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE LIKE, OTHER THAN WAITING FOR ANOTHER YEAR YEAH. WHAT IS THE CITY DOING TO SOURCE HOW OTHER PLACES ARE DOING IT? CORRECT. THERE HAS TO BE, I MEAN, RIGHT, RIGHT THERE, THERE, THERE, THERE. I'M NOT SAYING THAT AND, AND MAYBE MY UNDERSTANDING WAS WRONG, BUT I WILL DEFINITELY SEND IT OUT TO YOU GUYS. YEAH. UM, WHEN JUST KIND OF READING OVER OUR, OUR DEI, UM, RFQI KIND OF STUMBLED ON THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA'S, UM, DASHBOARD WHEN IT COMES TO UH, UM, I GUESS STAFF, LIKE STAFF LEVEL INFORMATION AND IT FILLS MORE OR LESS EEOC. UM, BUT I'M NOT FOR CERTAIN IT IS, BUT I'LL SEND IT TO YOU GUYS AND I'LL LET YOU GUYS TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF THIS IS AROUND LIKE WHAT WE'RE TRACK OR WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRACK. NOW I DID ACTUALLY TALK TO OUR HR DIRECTOR EARLIER THIS WEEK, UM, SOMETIME, AND I DID MENTION THAT STUDY AND I, I KNOW THAT SHE WAS THINKING SHE WOULD TALK TO OUR NEW IT DIRECTOR ABOUT WAYS TO KIND OF GATHER THAT INFORMATION. SO, UM, SHE WANTED TO KIND OF GO THROUGH HIM FIRST AND KIND OF SEE IF HE KNEW OF A ROUTE TO KIND OF DO THAT. AND THEN IF THAT KIND OF LED NOWHERE, I THINK THEN WE COULD KIND OF MOVE TO THE IDEA OF KIND OF BRINGING IN A CONSULTANT AND TRY TO REALLY FIGURE THAT, HOW TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. ARE WE STILL USING PAPER APPLICATIONS? TO MY KNOWLEDGE, NO. I WANNA SAY NO, BECAUSE THAT'S USUALLY, LIKE, THE BIG ISSUE IS YOU'RE USING PAPER APPLICATIONS AND THEN THEY'RE ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. RIGHT. BUT IF WE'RE USING ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS, YOU CLICK SUBMIT AND THE NEXT THING IT SHOULD TAKE YOU TO AN ANONYMOUS EEOC REPORTING DATA SCREEN. YEAH. BUT I, THAT, THAT'S HOW WE IMAGINE IT. BUT, YOU KNOW. YEAH. SO, AND THEN WHAT SHE WAS SAYING WAS, SO YOU FILL THE APPLICATION, IT BRINGS IT TO AN ANONYMOUS, ANONYMOUS, OPTIONAL PAGE. CORRECT? YEP. AND THEN FROM THERE, UM, YOU, YOU WOULD FILL IT OUT, FILL IN YOUR DATA, AND THEN IT GOES TO, WE HAD THIS POSITION OPEN. YEAH. FROM THIS DAY TO THIS DAY, WE HAD 200 APPLICANTS. OF THOSE 200 APPLICANTS 25 WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN. AND I THINK THAT'S THE STATISTICS, THE PROOF IN THE PUDDING. AND THEN WE WON'T HAVE ISSUES LIKE THIS, RIGHT. WHERE WE HAVE A TOTAL POPULATION. IS THIS FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE OR JUST CITY STAFF? OH, INCLUDED WITHIN THE NUMBERS. YEAH. I WANNA SAY IT'S ALL OF THEM. SO WE HAVE EVERYBODY. YEAH. SO WE HAVE IT, YEAH, THAT'S EVERYBODY. THAT'S RIGHT. OF 206 CITY EMPLOYEES, WE HAVE 20 MINORITIES, 20 AND 206 EMPLOYEES. THAT IS 91% WHITE PEOPLE WORKING FOR THE CITY, WHICH IS SO FAR SKEWED FROM WHAT A NORMAL POPULATION OF A CITY [00:55:01] WOULD BE. THEN ON TOP OF THAT, WE TOUT BEING THE MOST DIVERSE SUBURB IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, AND WE HAVE 91% WHITE PEOPLE WORKING FOR US, WHICH MEANS THERE'S, THERE'S VERY FEW PEOPLE BRINGING A DIFFERENT VIEW LENS EXPERIENCE TO THE TABLE. SO THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE WERE ASKING FOR THIS INFORMATION TO BE GATHERED R RIGHT. SO, BECAUSE IT'S NOT ON, YOU KNOW. YEAH. SO, I MEAN, YEAH. I'M ON MY SOAPBOX A LITTLE BIT, BUT NO, IT'S, IT'S ABYSMAL. IN 2024, THIS IS JUST BLATANTLY INDICATIVE THAT THERE IS NO TYPE OF DEI HIRING INITIATIVE AT ALL. NONE. THERE'S NO WANT, NEED FOCUS ON BRINGING MINORITIES INTO THESE POSITIONS. NOW, SOME OF THESE PEOPLE COULD HAVE WORKED HERE FOR 50 YEARS, I DON'T KNOW. MM-HMM. , IT JUST FROM A STATISTICS STANDPOINT, 186 OF 206 PEOPLE ARE WHITE. THAT'S, THAT'S A PROBLEM. THAT'S A PROBLEM IN EVERY LEVEL FROM TOP DOWN. THAT'S A PROBLEM. AND, AND SO THIS, THIS WAS THE PROOF IN THE PUDDING. I FEEL LIKE I JUST MADE A BIG DRAW AROUND IT, BUT THIS IS THE PROOF IN THE PUDDING OF WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET AT THIS ENTIRE TIME YEAH. IS WE CAN'T BE THE MOST DIVERSE SUBURB IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY WITHOUT HAVING A DIVERSE POPULATION RUNNING THE CITY. SO I'LL GET BACK OFF MY SOAPBOX. MM-HMM. . UM, IF YOU COULD PLEASE JUST KEEP THAT ON THE UP AND UP AND SEE, YOU KNOW, YEAH. MAYBE FOR AUGUST, WHAT, WHAT SOURCES HAVE BEEN LOOKED INTO. GOTCHA. UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT RESOURCES OR, YOU KNOW, AND SOFTWARE, WHATEVER DATA BASED COLLECTIONS. AND I CAN, AND I'M SORRY. COULD, AND YOU'RE FINE. YEAH. AND I CAN DEFINITELY, I CAN, I CAN KIND OF THROW THAT INTO MY WHEELHOUSE AS WELL. YEAH. UM, FRUSTRATING. I CAN TRY TO, I CAN TRY TO SEE IF I CAN FIND SOMETHING. IT'S FRUSTRATING. YEAH. I MEAN, IT'S GOTTA BE FRUSTRATING FOR YOU AS WELL. I DON'T KNOW. THE ASSUMPTION IS THAT, ARE WE, ARE WE SAYING THAT MINORITIES ARE APPLYING AND NOT GETTING HIRED? OR ARE WE SAYING, I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE THE STATISTICS TO SAY IT. WE, WE DON'T, IF WE'RE NOT GATHERING THE DATA, WE CAN'T SAY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, BUT IF WE HAVE THE DATA, THEN IT WOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT. THE CITY IS DOING EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO RECRUIT, RECRUIT, AND HIRE DIVERSE POPULATIONS. BUT SINCE WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO GATHER OF OUR 15 APPLICANTS TO FIX THE DRIVEWAY, YOU KNOW, EIGHT OF THEM WERE BLACK AND WE HIRED THE WHITE GUY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE DATA THAT WE NEED. AND THAT'S BECAUSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE MADE UNTIL WE HAVE DATA. YEAH. AND, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, UM, AS A SOCIAL WORKER, WE'RE COMING WITH THE STATISTICS, WE'RE COMING WITH THE DATA, AND, AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE DATA TO BACK UP BECAUSE YOU'RE OPENING YOURSELF TO A DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT. IF YOU CAN'T SAY, WE HIRED THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE, OR WE HAD THIS MANY APPLICANTS, AND THIS IS THE REASON WE HIRED THIS GUY, YOU'RE OPENING YOURSELF UP TO A DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT. SO WE GOTTA GET THE STATISTICS, AND THEN I'LL, OR WE GOTTA GET THE DATA. I CAN MAKE MY OWN STATISTICS OUT OF IT. I, WE JUST NEED THE DATA. WE NEED THE ABILITY TO GATHER THE INFORMATION TO SUPPORT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. YOU EITHER ARE OR WE ARE NOT DOING IT WELL, BUT UNLESS WE HAVE METRICS BEHIND IT, WE CAN'T SAY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. BUT, BUT EVEN WHEN YOU LOOKED AT, SORRY. NO, GO AHEAD. BUT EVEN WHEN YOU LOOKED AT, YOU SAID IT WAS PHILLY. YEAH. I MEAN, THAT'S JUST, YEAH. THAT'S JUST SHOWING WHO WORKED THERE. RIGHT. IT'S, IT'S JUST SHOWING, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT SHOWING, IT ISN'T SHOWING WHO APPLIED. BUT WE WOULD HAVE THAT ABILITY IF YOU'RE GATHERING IT AT APPLICATION. UH, AGAIN, IT'S STILL THE IDEA THAT, ONE, IT WOULD BE OPTIONAL. TWO, THAT'S WHERE I'M GONNA COME AT. LIKE, IT IS, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S OPTIONAL. NOW. WE ALL DO IT. RIGHT. DID IT FOR THE JOB. I GOT HIRED. I MEAN, I CAN ASK THE STATE OF OHIO HOW THEY DO IT. THEY DO IT THE SAME WAY. I'M, I'M JUST, I'M JUST SAYING LIKE, I, YOU CAN, AND I, AND I DON'T, AND I DON'T KNOW, I'M JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE. LIKE, YOU CAN BE A DIVERSE COMMUNITY AND PEOPLE NOT WANT TO WORK FOR YOUR CITY. THAT'S, IT'S NOT A CRIME. IT'S NOT AGAINST THE LAW. IT'S NOT. BUT TO YOUR POINT, I THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO KNOW WHO'S APPLYING. MM-HMM. AND GETTING MM-HMM. . I JUST, I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT. YEAH, I UNDERSTAND. FIRE, UH, ON MY VISION. ON MY VISION. I THINK NOT, UH, MANY PEOPLE, [01:00:01] UH, INTERESTING WORKING IN CITY, IN, IN LIKE CITY HALL. LIKE, UH, COREY, UH, QUESTION TO YOU, HOW DID YOU FIND OUT AND HOW DID YOU APPLY FOR THIS COMMISSION? DID YOU, UH, FIND OUT FROM THE CITY WEBSITE, OR DID YOU, I MEAN, OR SOMEBODY TELL YOU, WE HAVE THIS KIND OF OPENING, WE HAVE THIS KIND OF COMMISSION. UH, DO YOU WANNA BE PART OF IT? AND SAME THING TO EVER AGAIN, HE DIDN'T, UH, FIND THAT APPLICATION ONLINE OR SOMETHING. I TOLD HIM, HEY, UH, WE HAVE THIS KIND OF OPENING, AND YOU KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, AND YOU WANNA BE PART OF IT. AND HE SAID, YES. AND, UH, MANY PEOPLE, SAME THING. I DON'T THINK THEY ARE COME, LIKE SEARCHING, YOU KNOW, ON THE WEBSITE OR SITTING ON THE INTERNET. HOW DO YOU FIND IT? AND, UH, SO WATCH FOR OPENING AND THIS STUFF. I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE, UH, DOES THAT. AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHY THEY'RE NOT APPLYING FOR THE JOBS. IT, IT, IT COULD BE THAT. BUT THEN AGAIN, IN THAT SCENARIO, YOU'RE HIRING THE PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW, AND THEN YOU'RE HIRING THE PEOPLE THAT BELIEVE THE SAME THINGS THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT, THAT SEE THE SAME THINGS THE SAME WAY THAT YOU SEE THEM. THE SAME REASON THAT WE NEEDED THE DIVERSITY ON THIS COMMISSION IS EACH PERSON'S CULTURAL EXPERIENCE BRINGS SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE TABLE. SO I, YES, ABSOLUTELY. UM, YOU KNOW, ARE WE NOT PAYING WELL ENOUGH? ARE OTHER CITIES PAYING BETTER? WHATEVER. BUT WITHOUT THE, THE PROOF IN THE PUDDING, WE, WE JUST DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, IS IT, IS IT THE IDEA YOU GUYS ARE KIND OF, I, AND I MIGHT BE WALKING DOWN THIS PATH. IS IT MORE LIKE A COMP REPORT FOR ALL POSITIONS? IS IS LIKE, ARE WE TRYING TO SEE IF WE'RE, NO, I MEAN, HONESTLY, WE JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT THE CITY IS GATHERING THIS INFORMATION AND KEEPING IT IN SOME WAY SO THAT IF WE HAVE THIS QUESTION OR IT COMES UP, SOMEBODY COMES TO THIS COMMISSION AND SAYS THEY WERE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. YEAH. AND WE LOOK TO YOU GUYS TO PROVIDE US THE INFORMATION, AND IT'S JUST NOT THERE. IT'S JUST ALMOST UNHEARD OF IN 2024 TO NOT BE GATHERING EEOC DATA. IT, IT JUST IS ALMOST UNHEARD OF. SO I, I, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS SOMETHING, AGAIN, THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED IN 2020. UM, CAN, CAN I SAY THIS THEN? AND THIS WOULD GO A LOT EASIER TO KIND OF BACK THE, LIKE, I GUESS THE REPORT OR, OR THE, THE STATUS CURRENTLY IN 2024. WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE? AND IF IT, LIKE, IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN GENUINELY POINT ME TO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS WHO DO THAT, I THINK THAT'S A SIMPLE ASK. THEN LIKE, HEY, THE CITY OF CUBA HEIGHTS, WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE HOW WE CAN DO THIS. AND THEN FROM THERE, IT'S LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, MY, LIKE MY LEADERS, MY BOSSES, HEY, YOU KNOW, SO AND SO DOES IT HERE. AND THEY'RE SAYING IT'S LEGIT. CAN WE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT LIKE, HEY, CAN WE DO THAT? AND IT'S JUST THE UNDERSTANDING OF LIKE, TRYING TO, TRYING TO KIND OF COME UP WITH THE SOLUTION TO TRY TO SEE IF WE CAN KIND OF GET THIS DONE. AND, AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT IT'S A BAD, IT IS NOT A BAD THING. IT'S JUST THE UNDERSTANDING OF LIKE, I'M LIKE NOT NECESSARILY FAMILIAR WITH THE TOPIC. AND THEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, I GUESS OUR HR DIRECTOR NOT NECESSARILY HAVING LIKE, LIKE IT'S LIKE THE IDEA, LIKE IT COULD ONLY BE OPTIONAL. YOU KNOW, THE STATE DOESN'T REQUIRE US TO DO THAT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE TRYING TO BE AS OPEN AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO KIND OF MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS ACTUALLY HAPPEN. I'LL DIG IN. OKAY. I'LL GIVE YOU SOME MORE DATA AND SOME MORE INFORMATION. I WAS JUST, YEAH. AND, AND I'LL, I'LL ALSO, I'LL, I'LL ALSO PUT THIS ON FRONT OF MY LIST TO KIND OF SEE IF WHAT, WHAT I CAN FIND. UM, MM-HMM. , I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS KNOW THIS. MY WIFE DOES HR AS WELL. SO , , THROW HER UNDER THE BUS. RIGHT. ACTUALLY, DON'T GET THROWED OUT. DON'T GET THROWED OUT. HRS ONE STUFF. YEAH. I, I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE BEATING A DEAD HORSE, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT IT'S, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT JUST, I REALLY NEEDS TO BE DONE. I GOTCHA. UM, OKAY. ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING ELSE FOR EEO? UM, THE CCRB, IS THERE, UM, WE WERE LOOKING, THERE WAS DISCUSSION OF US SERVING ON THE CCRB. UM, YES. WHAT'S THE UPDATE? SO YES, A LOT OF THAT COMING OUTTA CCRB. SO, UM, NO, YOU GUYS CANNOT, AS, AS, AS FOR THE HANDBOOK, YOU GUYS ARE NOT ALLOWED [01:05:01] TO SERVE ON MULTIPLE, UM, BOARDS OR COMMISSIONS. WE COULD. UM, AND THEN IN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CCRB IS OLD IN ITS RECOMMENDATION, UM, COMING OUT OF THE COMMISSION AND THEN OBVIOUSLY BEING PASSED, UM, BY, UH, COUNCIL BACK IN OCTOBER, OCTOBER LAST YEAR, I SAY, YEAH, LAST YEAR. UM, IT HAS BEEN SOMETHING WHERE IT HAS LIKE, EITHER NO ONE HAS APPLIED FOR, OR AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE ONE PERSON I THINK THAT HAS APPLIED. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THERE ARE DIFFERENT LIKE CRITERIA THAT HAVE TO BE MET FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL TO BE THERE. SO I'M, I AM CONSTANTLY DOING THE LEGWORK TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT, HEY, IF WE CAN KIND OF FIND THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT MEET THAT CRITERIA TO APPLY. RIGHT. UM, I, I, I DID ACTUALLY TALK WITH, UH, UH, DR. FORWARD, UH, PROBABLY TWO, THREE WEEKS AGO. UM, JUST WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF, HEY, WE, WE, WE DID NEED SOMETHING WITH THE IDEA OF LIKE, HEY, WERE THERE ANY NAACP UH, UH, MEMBERS WHO WERE ALSO ELECTORS, UH, ELECTORS FROM THE CITY OF HUBBERT HEIGHTS? UM, WE GOT A COUPLE NAMES. UM, SO I'M HOPEFUL WE CAN KIND OF REACH OUT TO THEM IN THAT SAME CAPACITY TO KINDA, UH, GET THEM TO APPLY. UM, I KNOW THERE WAS ONE WITH A POLICE OFFICER OR, UM, A RESIDENT, UM, WHO ALSO WAS A POLICE OFFICER THAT WASN'T ALSO STILL SERVING ON HUBER HEIGHTS POLICE FORCE. UM, I DID GET A NAME, UM, ABOUT THAT GENTLEMAN JUST TO HAVE HIM REACH OUT TO HIM. AND THEN I THINK THERE WAS ONE, UM, ONE FROM YOU GUYS AS WELL. YOU GUYS WOULD ALSO NEED TO, UM, UH, RECOMMEND AN APPLICANT AS WELL, UM, WITHIN YOUR COMMISSION. UM, I THINK I SENT YOU AND YOLANDA THAT INFORMATION ABOUT NOMINATING SOMEONE. YEAH. THERE WAS, UH, THERE'S TWO APPOINTMENTS. ONE WAS A, A APPOINTMENT BY THE CITY, WHICH WOULD BE LIKE THROUGH THE LAW DIRECTOR. THE OTHER WAS AN APPOINTMENT. UM, BUT THOSE PEOPLE DID NOT HAVE ACTUAL, LIKE YEAH. THEY WERE JUST THERE TO WEIGH IN. SO, SO IN THOSE CASES, LEGALLY THEY COULD, SO, SO IN THOSE CASES, POLICE LAW, THEY COULD DO POLICE POLICY. YES. SO IN THOSE CASES IT WAS, UM, IT WAS ONE FROM THE CITY, ONE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. YEAH. SO IT WOULD BE CA OUR, OUR CHIEF LIGHTNER WOULD PICK ONE PERSON. YEAH. AND THEN THE CITY MANAGER WOULD PICK ONE PERSON. YEAH. MORE OR LESS. IN CASE IT'D PROBABLY JUST BE ME AS THAT INDIVIDUAL WHO WOULD BE PICKED FROM THE CITY MANAGER. OKAY. UM, AND THEN I WOULD DEFINITELY SAY READING BACK THROUGH THE POLICY, IT'S A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS POINTED THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER AND THAT, AND THAT ARENA, I AND THAT PERSON WHO WAS LIKE DOING THE LEGWORK TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHO THOSE PEOPLE WOULD BE SO WE CAN GET THAT KIND OF STRAIGHTENED OUT. YEAH. IN ADDITION TO THAT, JUST HOW THE POLICY KIND OF READS, I DIDN'T NECESSARILY THINK THE IDEA OF THEY WOULD ONLY BE ACTIVATED WHEN THERE WAS AN INCIDENT. THAT'S CORRECT. RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. I, UM, ME AND DR. FORD DID THINK THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE LANGUAGE COULD PROBABLY CHANGED. WHERE IF THEY'RE NOT, LIKE THE YOUNG IDEA, IF THEY'RE ONLY MEETING WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS, WHO KNOWS WHEN THAT WOULD HAPPEN. OBVIOUSLY WE WOULDN'T WANT ANY OF THAT TO HAPPEN AT ALL. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE IDEA IS THAT THEY WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY PROACTIVE, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S NOT SEMINARS OR MEETINGS OR JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING QUARTERLY, SO THEY'RE KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, ENGAGED. RIGHT. UM, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE. UM, I, I'M, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, I WOULD SAY THE CCRB IS, UM, UH, BASICALLY COPIED FROM DAYTON CCRB IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. CORRECT. IN A GENERAL SENSE. UH, I WOULDN'T SAY COPIED. WE, WE CREATED ALL OF THOSE MATERIALS. UM, IT WAS WITH A LENS TO THE, I WOULD SAY LIKE THIS IN GOVERNMENT. IT'S THE IDEA OF NOT, WE LOOKED AT DAYTON, IT'S NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL, BUT IT IS NOT. YEAH. BUT, UM, BUT ANY SENSE, I DID TELL MYSELF I WAS GONNA REACH OUT TO CITY DAYTON, KIND OF SEE HOW THEIRS RAN, BECAUSE I KNOW NOT EVERY TIME THAT THEY MEET, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT A CASE. RIGHT? YEAH. SO IT'S, YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN THE DOWNTIME, RIGHT? YEAH. SO THE, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO PLAN TO KIND OF, UH, REWRITE THE LEGISLATION WHEN IT CAME TO WHAT THEY WOULD DO IN DOWNTIME OPPORTUNITIES, IF THAT ISN'T MORE LIKE LEARNING OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE. SO I'M, I'M, MY MISSION IS TO KIND OF GET THAT BOARD LIKE YEAH. OCCUPIED. I THINK IF I SAID BY THE END OF THE YEAR, I'D BE LIKE, I'D BE A SUPERSTAR. UM, SO I CALL MYSELF THAT [01:10:01] SOMETIMES, BUT AT ANY RATE, UM, UH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOAL FOR MYSELF. SO, UM, I'LL KEEP YOU GUYS LIKE INFORMED ON WHAT I GOT OR GATHERED OR WHOM I'VE BEEN TALKING TO AND, AND OBVIOUSLY TRY TO SEE IF WE CAN KINDA GET LIKE AN ACTUAL BOARD SET READY TO GO. I HAVE A COUPLE PEOPLE I'VE BEEN MEANING TO SAY AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE ABILITY TO SERVE ON THIS BOARD IN THAT POSITION. UM, YOU KNOW, THINKING OF THAT EDUCATION PIECE TO THAT, IF IT'S SOMETHING WE COULD MAYBE DO QUARTERLY, I THINK THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THIS COMMISSION MM-HMM. ALSO NEEDS TO ATTEND YEAH. IN SOME TYPE OF AN ONGOING FASHION FORM OR SENSE, YOU KNOW, THESE ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TO DEI INITIATIVES AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO, AND YEAH. YEAH. THE IDEA OF YOU GUYS KIND OF LIKE, YEAH, SOMEWHAT. THAT WOULD BE REALLY NEAT TO DO. LIKE AN ONGOING YEAH. TRAININGS EDUCATION PIECE. I'M NOT SIGNING NO STUFF FOR EXTRA STUFF. I'M JUST SAYING. IT WOULD BE NICE. I GOTCHA. UM, TO DO. GREAT. UM, WHAT DIDN'T MAKE IT ON HERE, UM, FOR THE TURKISH MEMORIAL DAY? UM, I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS US BEING A SPONSOR. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ALLOCATE MAYBE A THOUSAND DOLLARS OF OUR BUDGET, UM, FOR US TO BE A SPONSOR OF THAT EVENT. THAT WAS SOMETHING I THOUGHT OF AFTER WE LEFT HERE LAST MONTH, UM, SINCE WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT EVENT IN HUBER HEIGHTS AND WE KIND OF BECAME LIKE A, A TERTIARY, UH, PLAYER IN THAT EVENT. MAYBE WE CAN BE A SPONSOR. I, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY NO. CAN WE? NO, NO, NO. YOU'RE, YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK. YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK FOR SURE. UM, I'M STILL WAITING ON ABRAHAM TO GIVE ME THE NEW, UM, LIKE A SPONSORSHIP FORM? NO, NOT THE NEW FORM, BUT THE ACTUAL, UM, BUDGET. THE BI THE BILL, THE BUDGET. COOL. YEAH. COOL. THE COST, THE QUOTE. YEAH. THE QUOTE. YEAH. YEP. , UH, BRAVE FART. ANYWAY, YEAH. I'M, I'M STILL WAITING ON HIM TO GET ME THAT. I NEED THAT. UM, IT FEELS LIKE BYRON CORRECTED ME IF I'M WRONG. IF THE IDEA IS THAT I KNOW THE CITY OF DAYTON, IT'S FINE WITH BEING A SPONSOR AS WELL. CORRECT. UM, AND JUST TALKING WITH TONY, IT'S THE IDEA THAT OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, HUBERT HEIGHTS IS FINE WITH DOING AS MUCH AS DAYTON DOES. SO, UM, NOT TO BE UP DONE . RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT. CORRECT. LOVE IT. SO, SO I THINK, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT LIKE ME, YOU AND SARAH AND, UM, ABRAHAM KIND OF REALLY NEED TO PRESS ON 'CAUSE WE'RE GETTING CLOSER. UM, OBVIOUSLY, UM, BUT YES, TO YOUR POINT, LIKE OBVIOUSLY THE, THE COMMISSION CAN OBVIOUSLY HAVE A PART IN BEING A SPONSOR AS WELL. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT BYRON AND ABRAHAM WERE HOPING FOR. UM, I THINK THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, RIGHT? CAN HE BEING THE PSYCHIC FRIEND? YEAH. I THINK THE DOLLAR AMOUNT RIGHT NOW, JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING CONCRETE RIGHT NOW IS SOMETHING THAT IS A LITTLE FOG FOGGY, AT LEAST FROM, FOR ME BEING COMFORTABLE WITH. UM, BUT I'M, I'M TRYING TO LIKE, IF, IF ABRAHAM GIVES ME SOMETHING AND THEN WE CAN KIND OF RE KIND OF STRUCTURE HOW OUR SPONSORSHIP, UH, LETTER GETS SENT OUT, I'LL COME TO YOU GUYS AND, AND A COMMISSION SET AND LIKE, HEY, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM WE WERE THINKING X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE COMMISSION COULD POSSIBLY, UH, APPROVE OF, IF THAT'S OKAY. IS AUGUST GONNA BE TOO LATE? I DON'T THINK SO. NO. OKAY. NO, IT'S NOT GONNA BE TOO LATE. OKAY. AND, UH, THANK YOU, UH, MS. SARA TO BRING IT UP ABOUT BEING VOLUNTEERING, LIKE DONATING MM-HMM. , UM, TO THE, UH, TO THIS MEMORIAL DAY. WE DO, BUT, UH, LIKE JEFFREY SAID, WE ARE ALREADY KIND OF IN TOUCH AND, UM, BERHE WILLING TO DONATE AND WE ARE AS A COMMISSION UNDER BERHE. DO WE HAVE TO DONATE ALSO? WE CAN, YEAH. YEAH. WHY NOT? WE'LL BE A SEPARATE SPONSOR. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. I'M MAKING DECISIONS FOR NINE OF US, BUT ABSOLUTELY. BYRAM . OKAY. I APOLOGIZE FOR SPEAKING FOR ALL OF US, BUT JUST DISCUSSION, HAVE DISCUSSION. THAT'S IT. NO, ABSOLUTELY. WE NOW FOR NEXT MONTH, WE'LL BE, UH, LIKE ENOUGH PREPARED TO ALL THE DETAILS AND WE'LL DISCUSS EVERYTHING AND, UH, WE'RE OFF FOR JULY. SO AUGUST. YEAH. AUGUST 1ST. AUGUST. OKAY. YEAH. AUGUST, RIGHT? YEAH. OUR NEXT MEETING IS GONNA BE FIRST AUGUST, AND THEN WE'LL PREPARE FOR THAT AUGUST MONTHS. YEAH. YEAH. YOU LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN YES. SPONSOR OR WHERE, AT [01:15:01] WHAT LEVEL YOU NEED US TO SPONSOR AND, AND WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE IT WORK. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. NO PROBLEM. NO PROBLEM. UM, LOOKING FORWARD AGAIN, THERE'S ONLY FIVE OF US. UM, SO THE INITIATIVES, THOSE COORDINATOR POSITIONS, UM, JEAN WAS TAKING THE LEAD ON LIKE MLK AND THE COMMUNICATION, UH, COORDINATOR. SO I'M GONNA PUT A LITTLE MORE WORK INTO THAT. SEND ME, UM, ANY IDEAS THAT YOU HAVE FOR INITIATIVES OR AREAS IN THIS WORK THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE LEAD ON, UM, MOVING FORWARD. UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE A VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR, COMMUNICATION COORDINATOR, UM, LET'S JUST TAKE SOME INDIVIDUAL OWNERSHIP IN THIS WORK. UM, AND THEN THAT WILL BE KIND OF WHAT YOU REPORT BACK ON AT OUR MEETINGS OR, OR WHAT YOU'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, AS YOUR POSITION. UM, AND SAYING THAT, UH, CHRISTIE HAD SOME UPDATES FOR US MM-HMM. , UM, UNDER INITIATIVES AND, AND THINGS. WELL, I, I, YEAH. IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE PREEMPTIVE, BUT JUST SOMETHING FOR US TO KIND OF, UM, CITY INFORMATION KEEP IN OUR BACK POCKETS MAYBE. UM, SO, UH, TODAY AT THE, UH, MAIN LIBRARY DOWNTOWN, UM, SO WE HAVE A NEWEST AMERICAN SPECIALIST, DR. GABRIELA PICKETT, AND SHE STARTED WORKING WITH THE MEXICAN CONSULATE, WHICH I THINK THE CLOSEST ONE TO US INDIANAPOLIS CAME OUT OF INDIANAPOLIS. YEP. WOW. AND, UH, SHE WAS, UH, ALSO WORKING WITH, UM, L POINTE, WHICH IS A, UH, LOCAL ORGANIZATION THAT HELPS, UM, LA LATINO AMERICANS, UM, JUST WITH FAMILY PROGRAMS, LEARNING PROGRAMS, THINGS LIKE THAT. OKAY. SO, LONG STORY SHORT, BUT, UH, EVERYONE GATHERED AT THE LIBRARY TODAY, AND THEY SIGNED, UM, A MEMORANDUM THAT WOULD, UH, BRING WHAT IS CALLED THE PLAZA, UH, COMMUNAL TO THE LIBRARY, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY, UM, A PROGRAM BETWEEN THE MEXICAN CONSULATE EL PUENTE AND DML TO, UM, PROVIDE LITERACY, UM, AND, UH, CERTIFICATE IN GEDI BELIEVE, UH, CERTIFICATES TO, UH, UH, THE, UH, LATINO AND HISPANIC COMMUNITY IN THE DAYTON AREA. THAT'S AWESOME. ESL. SO WHAT'S REALLY UNIQUE ABOUT THIS IS, UM, FOR LATINO AMERICANS, THIS COULD BE A CHANCE FOR THEM TO, UH, GET THEIR EDUCATION IN SPANISH THROUGH THIS PROGRAM. MM-HMM. . AND SO HOW I SEE THAT BEING A POSSIBLE, UH, POSSIBLY USEFUL TO US IS, YOU KNOW, UM, FOR OUR LATINO AMERICAN RESIDENTS HERE IN HUBER. UM, SO I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON, UM, THE PROGRESSION OF THAT PROGRAM AS IT GROWS WITHIN DML. YOU KNOW, THE PAPERWORK JUST GOT SIGNED TODAY, BUT I KNOW THAT THEY'RE ALL, EVERYONE IS VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT. UH, SOMEONE THAT WE MAY, UH, PUT IN OUR BACK POCKETS AS THEY POSSIBLE CONTACT FOR SOME FUTURE, WHATEVER, UH, WOULD BE MR. MANUEL LOPEZ. HE IS THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE LATINO, UM, AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR OHIO. HE WAS THERE, AND I ACTUALLY THINK HE'S GOING TO BE AT THE FARMER'S MARKET THIS WEEKEND, THIS WEEKEND. THAT, YEAH. HE HAD MENTIONED THAT HE WAS WORKING WITH, UM, HAD BEEN WORKING WITH SARAH ON SOMETHING. AWESOME. SO, YOU KNOW, HE COULD BE A NICE, UH, LITTLE, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST A CONNECTION TO, YOU KNOW, THESE AS WE GO FORWARD, THINKING ABOUT INITIATIVES THAT WE WANT TO BRING TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, I ALREADY TIED IT BACK TO ONE. I GOT YOU. SO WHEN WE MET WITH THAT, UM, WELCOME DAYTON GROUP, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THE PARENTS COULDN'T ASSIST THEIR CHILDREN. MM-HMM. WITH HOMEWORK AND THE METRO LIBRARIES AND THE HUBER BRANCH DOES HOMEWORK HELP AFTER THERE'S LIKE AN EVENING HOMEWORK HELP TIME. AND THERE WAS A, I HAD JUST SPITBALLED THIS WITH YOLANDA OF FINDING A WAY OF MAYBE DOING SOME TYPE OF ESL TANDEM ASSISTANCE WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS WHERE PEOPLE COULD BRING THEIR CHILDREN [01:20:01] AND GET THAT HOMEWORK HELP AT THE SAME TIME AT THAT LIBRARY BRANCH DURING THAT HOMEWORK HELP TIME. SO THAT'S MIGHT BE A WAY WE COULD LINK MAYBE THAT BACK TOGETHER AND LIKE THE TURKISH COMMUNITY AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHERE PARENTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE ABILITY TO HELP THEIR KIDS WITH THE HOMEWORK THEMSELVES. SO I THINK WE'LL LEAN ON, ON YOU AND THAT, UH, RESOURCE. YEAH. THERE'S A HOMEWORK HELP COORDINATOR. YEAH. UM, AND, UH, YEAH, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN COME DOWN THE PIKE. YEAH. BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE IN 2025, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT FINALLY SOME THINGS ARE MOVING TOWARDS A POSITIVE CHANGE? I DON'T KNOW. YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WELL, I JUST FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, THESE LITTLE STEPS AT A TIME, BUT I, WE'LL SEE HOW THE FALL GOES. YEAH. , YOU KNOW, I JUST, I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY GREAT AND I KNOW I, I MEAN, I'M CERTAINLY NOT, YOU KNOW, UNAWARE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT CULTURES THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IN OUR COMMUNITY. UM, SO THIS IS JUST ONE RESOURCE THAT MAYBE COULD BE USEFUL THEM ALL TOGETHER TO US SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE WITH SOME OF OUR INITIATIVES. I LOVE IT. UM, AND I ALSO WANTED TO TOSS OUT TO YOU GUYS, IF SOMEBODY'S LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO NEXT THURSDAY EVENING AND YOU'RE DOWNTOWN, THE LIBRARY IS HOSTING A PROGRAM. UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A DISPLAY, UM, BY THE AFRICAN AMERICAN VISUAL ARTIST OR AFRICAN AMERICAN VISUAL GUILD ARTISTS. I SAW THAT. NO. IS THAT THE A-A-V-A-G-I ALWAYS GET THAT WRONG. SORRY. UM, BUT ARTIST GUILD, YES. UH, THE ARTIST GUILD, AFRICAN AMERICAN VISUAL ARTIST GUILD. ALL RIGHT. SO THEY HAVE A LITTLE, UM, NOT A LITTLE, BUT A VERY NICE, UM, EXHIBIT ON DISPLAY ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE MAIN LIBRARY. UM, AND IT'S CALLED WHAT'S NEW? AND IT'S JUST ARTWORK, UM, BY SEVERAL OF THE GUILD ARTISTS THAT, UM, IT'S JUST KIND OF REFLECTIVE OF, YOU KNOW, ANY SOCIAL OR POLITICAL OR, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST ANY, ANYTHING THAT, THAT THEY'VE CAPTURED VISUALLY IN, IN A FORM OF WHAT'S NEW. UM, SO IF YOU LIKE ART, YOU CAN GO SEE THIS ART, BUT NEXT THURSDAY, UH, THERE'S A PROGRAM WHERE THE ARTISTS WILL BE TALKING, UM, AND IT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, CENTERED AROUND JUNE, YOU KNOW, JUNETEENTH AND THEIR ART AND THE EXHIBIT AND ALL OF THAT. SO JUST, IT'S FREE. WHAT TIME GUYS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO WHAT? SO I JUST MEANT TO TOSS THAT OUT. WHAT TIME? UH, SIX OR SIX 30, I BELIEVE. LET DOUBLE CHECK REAL QUICK SOUNDS ING, BECAUSE I HAVE IT PULLED UP AND, UM, YEAH, SIX TO EIGHT 30. OKAY. NEXT THURSDAY. YEAH, IT'S AN ARTIST TALK SESSION, BASICALLY. UM, YEAH, SO ANY, WHAT'S THAT? THAT'S AWESOME. THANK YOU FOR SHARING. I MIGHT, DEPENDING ON SOCCER, UM, STAY ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ANY MARCHING ORDERS FROM ERIC BEFORE JUNETEENTH, UH, MUSIC FESTIVAL. UH, PLAN ON BEING THERE BETWEEN TWO AND THREE IF YOU CAN. IF NOT, GET THERE WHEN YOU CAN GET THERE. UM, GRAB YOUR YARD SIGNS, YOUR PROGRAMS, AND YOUR T-SHIRTS. AND I THINK THAT'S IT. I GOT ONE LAST THING. OH. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS DRIVEN BY, UH, THE COMMUNITY CENTER ON POWELL? NO. SO JUST DRIVE UP THERE. UH, IF YOU EVER GET THE CHANCE, UM, UH, SARAH MCPHERSON AND CARLA, UM, HAD BEEN WORKING WITH A NON-PROFIT, UH, AHEAD, UM, WITH, UH, GETTING THEIR OWN PLOT UP THERE. AND, UH, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, TALKING WITH SARAH TODAY, UM, WE, WE, UH, AGREED, UH, WITH THEM WITH A MOU AND, UH, THEY'VE GOT, UM, THEY'VE GOT, UH, VEGETABLES IN THE GROUND. UM, SO JUST MAKING GOOD USE OF THE IDEA OF COMMUNITY GARDENS. SO THAT WAS ONE THING THAT, UH, CARLA HAD KIND OF, UH, PASSED THROUGH US, OR AT LEAST THE CITY. SO IT'S ONE OF THE, THE GOOD THINGS IN THE CITY. SO I JUST KIND OF WANT TO MAKE SURE I LEFT YOU GUYS WITH THAT. SO, SORRY, ARE THEY ACTUALLY DOING LIKE COMMUNITY GARDEN INITIATIVE OR THEY JUST STARTING BECAUSE THAT WAS SOMETHING WE WERE CARLOS GONNA TAKE THE LEAD ON. SO, SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, IT'S, IT IS JUST, UH, THE ORGANIZATION THAT HAD UP THERE WITH THEIR OWN PLOT YEAH. GROUP. UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE IS A RETIRED, I WANNA SAY HE'S A, UH, I DON'T WANNA SAY A BOTANIST THAT SOUNDS, MAKES IT, BUT NO, I KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. YEAH. YEAH. SO THERE, THERE'S A GENTLEMAN THAT SARAH HAD BEEN TALKING WITH WHO WOULD KIND OF HELP OUT WITH THE, UH, ORGANIZATION OF THE PLOTS AND KIND OF HELPING HIM OUT WITH, UH, UH, UH, THE WHOLE PROCESS. UM, BUT IT SEEMS, UH, THEY'VE GOT IT ALL PLOTTED OUT. THINGS ARE IN THE GROUND AND HOPEFULLY WE NEED SOMETHING TO KIND OF GROW ON THERE, UH, SOON. SO [01:25:01] JUST WANTED TO KIND OF PASS ON THAT GOOD INFORMATION. YEAH. YEAH. THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL, WE'LL EVOLVE FOR NEXT YEAR FOR SURE. AWESOME. OKAY, WELL WITH THAT WE'RE ADJOURNED. 7 44. * 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.