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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Sister City Committee - 10/03/2011 Sister City Committee Monday, October 3, 2011 6 p.m. City Hall —6th Floor Conference Room 1201 Leopard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401 1 2-0)11 MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT STAFF Andi Baker Mohamad Omar Dr. Jeremy Coleman Laura Gonzales Samantha Chase John Rocha Letisia Rios-Cortez Timothy Dowling Donald Russell Franklin Harper Elizabeth Garza. : Mac Sanders Dr. Judith Prewitt Meredith Delano Alan Thornburg JR Seaman Chris Kailas Brandi Williams Yvette Lara Elena Mendez Heather Moretzsohn I. CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Sister City Committee was called to order by Chris Kailas at 6:00 pm. II. ROLL CALL: Laura Gonzales called roll. A quorum was met with 15 of 20 members present. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Corrections: Under VIII. H. Pen Pal - Remove the word "going". Under I. Student Service— Remove the apostrophe on "student's". Donald Russell moved to accept the minutes as corrected. John Rocha seconded the motion. The Minutes were accepted. IV. TREASURER'S REPORT: DISCUSSION ITEMS: Laura Gonzales reported that the PALS account is $8,937.50. Donald Russell moved to accept the Treasurer's Report and Tim Dowling seconded the motion. The Treasurer's report was accepted. V. PUBLIC COMMENT: None VI. DISCUSSION ITEMS: A. DISCUSSION AND ACTION on voting for a new Chairperson. Brandi Williams nominated Chris Kallas. Elena Mendez nominated John Rocha. The committee voted and with a vote of 8— 6, John Rocha will be the new Chairperson. B. DISCUSSION AND ACTION on changing the student selection date from January to February. The Committee discussed a proposed change on the time line for the student selection. The new deadline would be January 20, 2012 to walk the application in to the office. If mailed, the postmarked date would be January 17, 2012. The date of the Student Selection would be February 11, 2012. Alan Thornburg moved to change the Student Selection date from January 2012 to February 11, 2012 at 8:00am. Brandi Williams seconded the motion. The motion passed. C. DISCUSSION AND ACTION on delegating a member of the Sister City.Committee to sit on the Nueces County Community Action.Board Tabled until November D. DISCUSSION AND ACTION on proposed fundraising activities. The fundraising group discussed having a Spring Signature Event and a Fall Festival. Another idea discussed was having a fundraiser based on a Holiday from one of our Sister Cities. Heather Moretzsohn moved to have a fundraising meeting on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at City Hall to discuss possible events. Liz Garza seconded the motion. The motion passed. E. DISCUSSION AND ACTION on no longer being a City Committee Heather - This is possibly a temporary situation and that at some point the City will reinstate the money. Elena— Suggested staying as a City Committee for now, but looking into the future and becoming more involved with the International Sister Cities. SCANNED • Tim -Wouldn't have to follow the Open Meeting Act. The City name adds prestige to the Sister City Committee. Laura's services are invaluable and the Committee would have to hire someone to take that position and that would cost money. Andi — New jobs are coming into the area and the financial outlook is brighter. If we cut ties with the City, it would be hard to get back in as a Committee. Donald Russell — By staying with the City, the insurance is taken care of and if the Committee went on its own, there would be the cost of insurance. Chris — Suggested looking into a different City Department taking over the Sister City . Committee. VII. Liaison Reports • A. Yokosuka, Japan — Heather was very impressed with the Student Presentations. She wrote down some of the things the students said and it helped reiterate the importance • of the exchange. B. Agen, France— Heather's neighbor was part of the exchange 10 years ago and his exchange counterpart still talks about how wonderful the program was. C. Keelung, Taiwan — No Report D. Monterrey, Mexico — No Report E. Toledo, Spain — No Report F. Playa del Carmen — Laura will try and find the letter from Sr. Boldo so that we can Re-establish communications with Playa del Carmen. VIII. Task Manager Reports A Publicity Reports— Liz is going to try and get an article published about the exchange Program. B. Curriculum/Training —John will no longer be able to serve as the Manager for this group. Alan is willing to become the Task Manager of this group but he will need help during the training. He has a class on Sunday that will interfere with the training. Mohammad and Samantha are interested in becoming a part of this group. C. Fundraising— No Report D. Art Competition— No Report E. New Sister City Evaluation — No Report F. Activities—John will no longer be able to serve as the Manager for this group. G. Student Selection —Applications are out. Tim spoke to John Paul II and to the King Counselor. Brandi and Alan have plans to meet the counselors at all the schools to follow up. H. Pen Pal —The Pen Pal program is on its way. The students that are participating are ages 6— 11. Students havewritten their letters and they will be sent soon. I. Student Service—The students have one more work obligation. There is an Art Walk on Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:30pm. IX. IDENTIFY ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON NEXT AGENDA— . A. DISCUSSION AND ACTION on validity of keeping the Art Competition B. DISCUSSION AND ACTION on what percentage the students are going to pay. X. GENERAL CHAIR'S REPORT: None XI. ADJOURNMENT: Brandi Williams moved to adjourn and Elena Mendez seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 7:18 pm. Laura Gonzales, Sister City Recording Secretary Cultural Services Division Parks &.Recreation Department