Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Sister City Committee - 07/12/2021 w 1201 Leopard Street City of Corpus Christi td� � Corpus Christi,TX 78401 4 cctexas.com Meeting Minutes Sister City Committee Monday,July 12,2021 12:00 PM Galvan House 1st Floor-Heritage Park Regular Meeting The City of Corpus Christi promotes participation regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability or political belief. Reasonable accommodation is provided upon request and in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. For assistance or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact (361) 826-3300 at least 48 hours in advance. Upon request, this information can be available in larger print and/or in electronic format. A. Call To Order Chairperson Melody Cooper called the meeting to order at 1:05pm. B. Roll Call Jacob Warren, Liaison performed roll call and announced quorum had been met. C. Public Comment No public comment was provided. D. Approval of Minutes and Action on Absences Adoption of Minutes for 6/7/21 Sister City Committee Regular Meeting. A motion was made by Chair Melody H. Cooper, seconded by Board Member Mirza Pearson, that the Minutes be approved. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. E. Discussion /Action Items Monterrey Fire Department - Chief Robert Rocha Chief Rocha -Through the Sister City Committee, the Fire Department has been able to bring members of the Monterrey, Mexico Fire Department to Corpus Christi for training. Also donated fire equipment to Monterrey. Currently ready to donate more including boots, pants, various equipment and items. Would like to make this donation in the next 2 City of Corpus Christi Page 1 Printed on 811912021 Sister City Committee Meeting Minutes July 12,2021 months. We currently have members from the state of Jalisco in Corpus Christi that are willing to take the donations to Monterrey. Also planning to have members from Monterrey come to Corpus Christi with help and coordination from the Sister City Committee. Will do a formal presentation of the equipment being donated followed by discussion of logistics to donate it. Wants to know if the Sister City Committee agrees with this donation and potentially willing to have an informal ceremony. Melody Cooper- Sister City Committee is on board. Wants to know where ceremony can be held. Suggested using a Fire Station. Chief Rocha -Agreed to use of a Fire Station. Proposed August 19, 2021 as ceremony date. Also asked to have Mayor Guajardo attend the ceremony. Student Exchange Program -Almira Flores/ Luis Cabrera/Susane Horn / Valerie Harbolovic Luis Cabrera - Discussed past exchanges with Valerie Harbolovic and how to prepare for the coming year. Completed revision of the application process. Planning to try an online application process this coming year. Melody Cooper-Asked when the forms will be made available. Luis Cabrera - Stated the coming fall season will be the best time to start implementation. Stated fundraising has always been the biggest hurdle. Currently looking into making scholarships available to make the Student Exchange Program and Cultural Exchange Program as accessible as possible. Melody Cooper- Stated that Philippe Galan from Agen, France wants to have the usual three weeks in late June to early July for us to go to France first and them to the U.S. after. Valerie Harbolovic- Discussed possibility of providing scholarships to students that typically would not be able to afford to participate in the program. Idea still needs further research to solidify. Almira Flores - Waiting to receive correspondence from Taiwan. Cultural Exchange Program - Melody Cooper/Valerie Harbolovic/ Mirza Pearson Melody Cooper- Received email from Agen stating they would like our pianists to go to France either May or July of next year. In may there will be a festival in France. We're hoping to send two pianists from Del Mar College. The pianists have stated they would prefer May as July is when teaching starts again. No issues with funding to send our pianists. The pianist from Agen is currently attending Berklee (College of Music) and should have an easier time participating in the Cultural Exchange Program. Additionally, we will have to plan around receiving the Yokusuka delegation in October. Questioned City of Corpus Christi Page 2 Printed on 811912021 Sister City Committee Meeting Minutes July 12,2021 whether Mayor would be able to meet with members from Agen, France in May 2022. Alice Acuna - Unsure, but will verify and reach out. Mirza Pearson - Suggested hosting a mixer for potential donors to explain SCC goals and potentially generate funding for committee. Luis Cabrera -Agreed with idea and would like to develop a budget based on confirmed donation and funding. Questioned whether SCC would be allowed to host a mixer to generate funding and whether SCC would be allowed to maintain their own rolling budget each year. Melody Cooper- Current funding is secured, but unsure of receiving another $6,000. Wants to know if we're currently still deciding on the budget. Also wants to know how to lobby to maintain the currently allotted $6,000. Jacob Warren - Budgets have not been finalized and we are still working on them currently. Suggested reaching out to City leaders to find definite answer. Explained that previous Parks & Recreation Finance Superintendent knew the SCC funding situation and confirmed the SCC would receive $6,000 for FY21. However, after Kathleen Ramos retired, the position had not been filled for quite some time and research will be required to find the SCC financial information. Melody Cooper- Plans to lobby to maintain funding. Also stated concerns regarding mixer and how to target sources of funding. Questioned how to target companies. Luis Cabrera - Each company has different application methods. Funding sources are also limited. Our best option is to make funding goals for our flagship programs and progress from there. Suggested using Galvan House as a hosting location. Valerie Harbolovic- Potentially worth seeking out companies that have maintained good revenue throughout the pandemic. Michael Crowley - Suggested targeting energy companies. Melody Cooper- Requested that Michael Crowley, Mirza Pearson, and Luis Cabrera form sub-committee to work towards implementing finance goals. Michael Crowley will lead the effort. Mirza Pearson - Suggested obtaining sponsor to supply refreshments for the proposed mixer. Melody Cooper- Very interested in new ideas for funding sources. 60th Anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Corpus Christi, Texas and Yokosuka, Japan - Mirza Pearson City of Corpus Christi Page 3 Printed on 811912021 Sister City Committee Meeting Minutes July 12,2021 Mirza Pearson - Secured meeting with Eddie Martinez, Trade Development Manager for the Corpus Christi Port Authority, and will also be speaking with officer Omar Garcia to get support. Need to establish who will be involved in event between Corpus Christi and the embassy in Yokosuka, Japan to formalize event. Looking to have entrepreneurs and business leaders in both Yokosuka, Japan and Corpus Christi gain interest in attending the event. Planning to host event around beginning of October 2022. Melody Cooper- Would like to have the event moved to end of September so it does not cause complications with Student/Cultural Exchange events with Agen, France. Mirza Pearson / Michael Crowley - No reason why it can't be moved to September. Mirza Pearson - Only current obstacle is funding. Need to establish funding sources to solidify budget for event. Financial Report - Shelly Rios Jacob Warren - Provided the Financial Report in lieu of Shelly Rios. Listed three points - 1) Finance information reported in the previous meeting remains the same and account balance has not changed. Currently waiting on news regarding final decisions for FY21-22 budgets. 2) There is currently a temporary freeze on PALS accounts. No payments can be made and deposits are not being accepted. Unsure of how this affects the Sister City Committee at this time. 3) Sister City Committee will need to establish a treasurer or someone to handle finances for the committee. Historically, this has been a representative from the Mayor's Office. Valerie Harbolovic-There are members on the committee that have finance skills and grant writing skills that can be utilized for the committee. Valerie possesses grant writing skills that she would like to offer for the betterment of the committee. Suggested that grant funding could be a good alternative to the current absence of a determined financial situation. F. Identify Items to be placed on August 16, 2021 agenda G. Adjournment This meeting may be held via videoconference call pursuant to Texas Government Code § 551.127. If this meeting is held via videoconference call or other remote method of meeting, then a member of this governmental body presiding over this meeting will be physically present at the location of this meeting unless this meeting is held pursuant to Texas Government Code § 551.125 due to an emergency or other public necessity pursuant to Texas Government Code § 551.045. City of Corpus Christi Page 4 Printed on 811912021