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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Sister City Committee - 11/08/2021 w 1201 Leopard Street City of Corpus Christi Corpus Christi,TX 78401 cctexas.com Meeting Minutes Sister City Committee Monday, November 8,2021 12:00 PM City Hall -3rd Floor Engineering Smartboard Room 1201 Leopard St.,Corpus Christi, TX 78401 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 11:58am. B. Roll Call Liaison Jacob Warren performed roll call. Present: 8- Susane"Westi" Horne,Almira Flores, Deacon Marck C.Arnold, Melody H. Cooper, Luis F. Cabrera,Valerie Harbolovic, Mirza Pearson,and Adria Vasquez Absent: 1 - Michael Crowley C. Public Comment No public comment was provided. D. Approval of Minutes and Action on Absences 1. 21-1578 Approval of minutes for the 8/16/21 Sister City Committee Regular Meeting A motion was made by Board Member Valerie Harbolovic, seconded by Board Member Mirza Pearson, that the 8/16/21 Minutes be approved. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. E. Discussion /Action Items 2. 21-1588 Sister City Committee Transfer to Intergovernmental Relations Department Liaison Jacob Warren provided an explanation of the Sister City Committee transfer from Parks and Recreation to Intergovernmental Relations. The transfer will be completed City of Corpus Christi Page 1 Printed on 11/17/2021 Sister City Committee Meeting Minutes November 8,2021 once a liaison from Intergovernmental Relations has been selected and has adjusted to the role. 3. 21-1587 Mexico Sister City Outreach Mirza Pearson led discussion regarding Mexico Sister City Outreach. New mayors were recently elected in Mexico and they will be in transition until January 2022. Hoping to establish a relationship with the mayor's office in Monterrey soon. Valerie Harbolovic is working on establishing communication with Playa del Carmen and Veracruz. Valerie recently learned that any previous documentation of the Corpus Christi Sister City Committee no longer exists and the current database needs to be built from scratch. Fire Chief Robert Rocha plans to lead efforts to establish a strong relationship with Monterrey. Mayor Guajardo has contacts that can help establish relationships with Mexico Sister Cities. 4. 21-1574 Student Exchange Program -Almira Flores/ Luis Cabrera/Susane Horn / Valerie Harbolovic Luis Cabrera lead the discussion on the Student Exchange Program. Further discussions with Agen, France are necessary to determine if we should proceed with the Student Exchange Program for 2022. COVID-19 is still a cause for concern, but preparations will be made in case the student exchange can occur. 5. 21-1575 Cultural Exchange Program - Melody Cooper/Valerie Harbolovic/ Mirza Pearson Melody Cooper lead the discussion on the Cultural Exchange Program. Currently scheduled for the cultural exchange event on May 26, 2022 with Agen, France. We will be sending two professors, a husband and wife duo, from Del Mar University to perform on piano in Agen. A cultural festival was also scheduled during the week of May 26, 2022, but it was pushed to June 2022. Still looking at hosting the mayor, and possibly a delegation, from Agen, France in October 2022. 6. 21-1576 60th Anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Corpus Christi, Texas and Yokosuka, Japan - Mirza Pearson Mirza Pearson lead the discussion on the 60th Anniversary event with Yokosuka, Japan. The plan is to invite a delegation from Yokosuka to Corpus Christi. Discussed the possibilities of hosting either a smaller or larger delegation from Yokosuka. A smaller delegation would be a standard event while a larger event would be akin to a trade delegation with the idea of establishing trade relations. Due to the City of Corpus Christi Page 2 Printed on 11/17/2021 Sister City Committee Meeting Minutes November 8,2021 significant amount of regulations surrounding a larger event, it was decided that a standard event would take place. 7. 21-1577 Funding Sources - Mirza Pearson /Luis Cabrera Mirza and Luis discussed the Funding Sources item. The plan is to go back and look at the funding they have received and create a budget from that. They will focus primarily on establishing a budget for the Student Exchange Program as that is one of the main objectives of the Sister City Committee. Proposed a matching scholarship for the Student Exchange Program to promote participation. Mayor Guajardo ensured the committee members that more funding will come in time. Looking to revamp the Sister City Committee. 8. 21-1578 Budget Allocation - Melody Cooper/Luis Cabrera/ Mirza Pearson /Valerie Harbolovic Budget allocation will with go hand-in-hand with the funding sources. All funding the SCC has received needs to be analyzed to establish proper budget allocations. Primary objectives will be the Student Exchange Program, the planned cultural exchanges with Agen, France, and the 60th Anniversary event with Yokosuka, Japan. F. Identify Items to be placed on December 13, 2021 agenda The items from the 11/08/21 SCC agenda will be discussed again during the 12/06/21 SCC agenda. G. Adjournment Valerie Harbolovic motioned to adjourn and Luis Cabrera seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 12:01 pm. 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 3 Printed on 11/17/2021