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Home My WebLink About03/14/2007 - Minutes � i�"' �� Renton -- . In Attendance: Lari White, Antonio Cube, Charles Thomas, � Ad v i s o ry �ern Nichols, Kelly Roberts Absent: Sandel Demastus. C o m m i s s i o n Staf£ Bonnie Rerecich Guests: KathIeen Bailey, Elizabeth Stewart O n Visitors: Thomas Mitchell D ive rs ity March 14, 2007 • 6:30p.m. • City Hall, 5th Floor, Room #519 GiTY OF RENTON CALL TO ORDER MAY 1 1 2007 Lari White; Secretary, called t�e March meeting to order. CITY CLERK S OFFICE APPROVAL OF MINUTES Antonio made a motion to approve the February 21, 2007, regular meeting minutes. Charles seconded. Motion carried. GUEST INTRODUCTIONS • Kathleen Bailey, Executive Director of Secondary Education for the Renton School District,was in . attendance. Ms.Bailey is the staff liaison to the Renton School District Advisory Committee. The Committee has a core group of twenty and has a broad base of administrators,teachers, and parents. Their primary goal has been to focus on staff education on the growing diverse student population and the importance of outreach. She announced they will be offering a workshop as part of an in- service training on August 22. The training will offer a variety of workshops; such as tlie challenges facing children in poverty and awareness of cultural differences in Muslim, Ukrainian, or other groups of�students. The Advisory Committee meets at 5:00 p.m., the first Monday of the month, in Room#257, Kohlwes Education Center. In response to questions, Ms. Bailey said diversity means differences, which can be poverty, wealth, disabilities, etc. Renton is changing. Currently the largest non English-speaking group is Latino. An indicator or assessment tool that the school district uses to identify perceptual issues that hinder achievement is called Educational Effectiveness Survey created by the Center for Educational Effectiveness. In order to get people involved you need to invite them and encourage them to participate. One obstacle is that people of color feel disconnected from the City. • Elizabeth Stewart, Director of the Renton History Museum, gave an ove�view of her background and that any accurate history needs to be a diverse history. One of the goals of the Renton Museum is to build their collection to reflect Renton's diverse and rich history. She indicated that an example of this was the pictures used in a recent article on "Renton's Black Pioneers". The Museum iised nearly all of the pictures they had on file. • Thomas Mitchell, may be submitting an application for membership on the Renton Advisory Commission On Diversity. i City of Kenton r �� Renton Advisory Committee on Di�eity � Meeting of March 14, 2007 Page 2 of� COR.RESPONDENCE � henton Histo�y Museum: The featured article was "Renton's Black Pioneers". Multipurpose Events Center: Statement from Mayor Kathy Keolker on beirig selected as the preferred site for a regional event center. Movin�Renton Forward: A 2007 budget overview, 2006 review, new website, and city contacts. An�use Business Transnortation. Inc: . A Iocally owned minority business. Communitv Services Department: Event calendar for March/April. CONSENT ITEMS (Motion required.) Bonnie presented the draft of the new website design, noting the new banner. Discussion followed with a request to rearrange the order of the pictures featuring the hands in the middle. Vern made a motion to approve the posting of the webpage with the suggested change. Charles seconded, motion carried. Two certificates were reviewed and approved. A Certificate of Appreciation from Michael Webby to Glenda Williams for her service on the City of Renton's Human Rights and Affairs Commission and to Brian Sandler for his assistance with Renton Advisory Commission On Diversity(to be signed by Sandel Demastus, Chair)were received. OLD BUSINESS Review Action Items: 1. Maintain website information. Part of consent items. 2. Investigation/Reports: None 3. Mentoring: None 4. Human Services efforts: Tabled 5. Service &Dedication Award: Part of consent items. 6. Renfon River Days: There was discussion about the opportunity to fund entertainment for Renton River Days with emphasis on an ethnic or cultural experience. Bonnie shared two different performances currently being considered: Irish Step Dancing and a young Hawaiian dance troop. A commitment of$250 to the Advisory Commission would be minimal but exposure in supporting this type of activity could be far reaching. Charles expressed a concern with sponsoring one group over another and thought this could become an issue. No action was taken at the March meeting. There was discussion on ha�ing a booth at Renton River Days. Bonnie outlined two different�options available. The Advisory Committee could have their own booth on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Committee would need to man the booth or they could join the Community Services Department and have a poster display (example presented) with informational materials. Commissioners could then choose to take a shift or not as this could also be a static display. No action was taken at the March meeting. NEW BUSINESS Elections: The description of the duties of officers was read and a call for nominations or volunteers was made. In the absence of Sandel Demastus, Bonnie reminded the Committee that Sandel had expressed an -2- �City of Renton � Renton Advisory Committee on Di�ty .,,�,,; Meeting of March 14,2007 Page 3 of 3 interest in remaining as Chair. Vern nominated Sandel as Chair of the Advisory Commission On Diversity. The motion was seconded. All were in favor, motion carried. Charles volunteered to act as Vice Chair, a motion was made and seconded. All were in favor,motion carried. Lari volur�teered to . continue in the position of Secretary. A motion was made and seconded. All were in favor,motion carried. COMMITTEE REPORTS • Speakers: Lari reported speakers are not scheduled at this time. • Survey Goal #1: Charles and Vern reported on the Subcommittee meeting of March 6, presenting the action plan for a survey. • Community Visibility, Activities and Events Goal #2: No report: • Recruiting &Job Descriptions Goal#3: Bonnie presented the draft of a general job description with duties of officers attached. Charles made a motion to approve the job description, Antonio seconded,motion carried. Lari and Kelly reported on the Subcommittee meeting of March 6 and presented an action plan. Vern expressed concern that recruitment should be in conjunction with the survey. An amendment to request assistance from the City Departments as part of marketing to identify community members who may have an interest in serving will be added to the plan. • Antonio recommended that with the amendment to Goal#3, recruitment and filling positions that both action plans be accepted. Vern made a motion, seconded by Lari, motion camed. COMMENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS Discussion on who would be attending the Volunteer Recognition Banquet took place. Lari expressed that it would be nice to have representation from everyone. Vern said his father would attend in his absence. Lari will RSVP on behalf of the Commission. STAFF REPORTS Bonnie shared the English as a Second Language Learners Resource for Renton Residents compiled by the City of Renton Human Services Department. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. All were in favor, motion camed to adjourn the March meeting at 8:24 p.m. Mi utes tak n by: Bonnie Rerecich � Signature NEXT REGULAR MEETING April 11, 2007— 6:30 P.M. Renton City Hall, Room #521, 5t" Floor -3-