HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Sister City Committee - 03/07/20221201 Leopard Street
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
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City of Corpus Christi
Meeting Minutes
Sister City Committee
12:00 PM City Hall, 3rd Floor Engineering Smartboard RoomMonday, March 7, 2022
Regular Meeting
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Call To OrderA.
Chairperson Melody Cooper called the meeting to order at 12:08 pm.
Roll CallB.
Liaison Triston Crossland performed roll call.
Present: Susane “Westi” Horne, Almira Flores, Deacon Mark C. Arnold, Melody H.
Cooper, Luis F. Cabrera, Valerie Harbolovic, Mirza Pearson, and Adria Vasquez
Absent:
Public CommentC.
No public comment was provided.
Approval of Minutes and Action on AbsencesD.
1.Approval of minutes for Regular Meeting on January 10, 2022
01.10.22 SCC MinutesAttachments:
A motion was made by Committee Member Susane Horne, seconded by Committee
Member Valerie Harbolovic, that the January 10, 2022 Minutes be approved. The motion
carried by a unanimous vote.
Discussion / Action ItemsE.
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March 7, 2022Sister City Committee Meeting Minutes
2.Mexico Sister City Outreach - Mirza Pearson / Valerie Harbolovic
Committee Member Valerie Harbolovic provided an update to the committee on the May
12th special luncheon to honor Sr. Luis Gutierrez, Director General of Mexico in San
Antonio, Texas, and Ruben Minutti Zanatta, Consul General of Mexico in San Antonio,
Texas. While there were no formal proceedings, the luncheon was an excellent
opportunity to get to know one another and was well attended by 20-30 people, including
Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo, Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales, Dr.
Kelly Miller, and many others. The luncheon was coordinated by Cleo Rodriguez,
Honorary Consul of Mexico in the Coastal Bend. Committee Member Mirza Pearson
added that she was working with the Consul General’s office in Corpus Christi on a May
12th event.
3.Student Exchange Program - Almira Flores / Luis Cabrera / Susane Horn /
Valerie Harbolovic
Committee Member Luis Cabrera led the discussion by sharing his efforts to seek the
input of Sister City partners towards a potential virtual exchange. He had not received any
feedback yet, aside from Yokosuka who intended to provide additional input at a later
date. Luis mentioned the idea of still implementing the program on our end, even if there
were no formal exchange between sister cities.
4.Cultural Exchange Program - Melody Cooper / Valerie Harbolovic / Mirza
Pearson
Chairperson Melody Cooper led the discussion by sharing the members of the Corpus
Christi delegation traveling to Agen, France, for the May 26th concert. Melody mentioned
that Councilmember Roland Barrera would be leading the delegation, in his official
capacity, and that the Sister City committee needed to vote to approve covering his travel
expenses for the event.
Committee Member Mirza Pearson made a motion that the Sister City Committee
reimburse Councilmember Roland Barrera’s hotel, per diem, and airfare costs, as well
as two days of per diem each for Dr. David Sutanto and Dr. Shao-Shan Chen. The
motion was seconded by Committee Member Adria Vasquez and approved by a
unanimous vote.
5.60th Anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Corpus Christi, Texas
and Yokosuka, Japan - Mirza Pearson
Board Member Mirza Pearson led the discussion of the 60th Anniversary of the Sister
City relationship between Corpus Christi and Yokosuka, Japan. Mirza spoke with
representatives of NAS-CC about a potential dinner banquet with representatives of
Yokosuka. She mentioned the potential for a virtual event as well but at this moment
Yokosuka was not ready to make a determination.
Mirza relayed a request from Yokosuka that Corpus Christi participate in Fleet Week
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from May 26-31st, 2022. The event involves a challenge that promotes what sea life is
like for sailors.
6.Funding Sources & Budget Review - Mirza Pearson / Luis Cabrera / Melody
Cooper
Chairperson Melody Cooper led the discussion by expressing her goal of ensuring Sister
City Committee funds were not lost due to COVID’s impact on Committee programs this
year. She mentioned the idea of pre-paying for hotel space ahead of time to ensure
unused funds could be utilized next fiscal year. The Committee discussed various funding
and budget considerations for FY22-23.
Melody mentioned that all outstanding expenses from the Agen trip not covered by the
musical exchange funds should come from the Sister City regular budget, and not the
scholarship budget. Mirza will put together an updated budget proposal for next fiscal
year.
Identify items to be placed on April 10, 2022 agendaF.
Virtual Student Exchange Program
Cultural Exchange Program
60th Anniversary of the Sister City relationship Corpus Christi, Texas and Yokosuka,
Japan
FY22-23 Budget Discussion
AdjournmentG.
Valerie Harbolovic motioned to adjourn, and Almira Flores seconded the motion. Motion
carried by unanimous consent. The meeting adjourned at 1:24 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.
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