The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutTRC Agenda 8 1 2024 Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission Thursday, August 1, 2024 Regular Meeting 7 PM – Emma Harvat Hall, City Hall 410 E. Washington Street AGENDA: 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. READING OF NATIVE AMERICAN LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA (COMMISSIONERS SHALL NOT ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION WITH THE PUBLIC CONCERNING SAID ITEMS.) 5 MINUTE MAXIMUM FOR EACH SPEAKER. Only in-person comments will be allowed for Public Comment. Public comment for specific agenda items, which must be directly related to that agenda item, may be made in-person or remotely. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM JULY 18, 2024 5. NEXT STEPS FOR PHASE THREE AND FOUR INCLUDING UPCOMING EVENTS AND ENGAGEMENT 6. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS 7. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF STAFF 8. ADJOURNMENT In order to encourage input from the public, the Commission intends to offer the opportunity to participate in the meeting remotely. However, this meeting is in-person, and those wishing to ensure their ability to participate should attend the meeting in-person. If you instead wish to participate remotely, you may attempt to do so by joining the below link. First Thursday Meetings ID: 867 2424 8095 Third Thursday Meetings ID: 895 3695 0485 If you have no computer or smartphone, or a computer without a microphone, you can call in by phone by dialing (312) 626-6799 and entering the meeting ID when prompted. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all City of Iowa City-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in these events, please contact the Office of Equity and Human Rights at 319-356-5022 or humanrights@iowa-city.org. 1 July 18, 2024 Draft Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Minutes Emma Harvat Hall, City Hall Commissioners present: Amos Kiche, Cliff Johnson, Chad Simmons, Chastity Dillard, Lauren Merritt. Commissioners on Zoom: Lubna Mohamed, Wangui Gathua, Kayla Rossi. Commissioners not present: Louis Tassinary. Staff present: Geoff Fruin. Recommendation to City Council: No. Meeting called to order: 7:09 PM Reading of Land Acknowledgement: Merritt read the Land Acknowledgement. Approval of minutes from June 20, 2024: Dillard moved, and Johnson seconded. Motion passed 8-0. Next steps for phase three and four: Dillard led the discussion with a recap on what are areas of focus in the last meeting. Kiche shared a potential budget that would offer a new approach to the commission’s goals leading to the end of the year. In Kiche’s budget it was suggested to focus on groups by race/ethnicity. Dillard mentioned that in previous meetings the commission agreed as a whole to allow the focus for the remainder of the work to be put towards Africans and Black communities. Merritt and Johnson agreed the proposed budget looked realistic and doable for the commission. Dillard suggested using the budget as a loose guide that allows for some changes throughout their work. It was suggested to update the timeline of the budget due to it being late July and leading up to the commission end date of December 2024. Fruin offered a suggestion to have both a summary budget that allows for more flexibility and then a more detailed budget that allows the commission a rough guideline for planning purposes. Fruin also mentioned that the city is likely to be more interested in the bottom-line number that the commission plans to spend for the remainder of its time. Dillard suggested allocating less funds to space rentals and putting that money towards food and other necessities. Mohamed suggested the Coralville Public Library as a free meeting space. Simmons recommended making a motion for the budget in order to focus on more important issues at hand and then focusing on the smaller details in the budget for a later date. 2 It was agreed that the “miscellaneous” line of the budget would be changed to “report writing, facilitation, and shared services” with a budget of $7,500. Simmons clarified the budget by suggesting doubling the numbers in the budget for special meeting and special event promotion than keeping the amount for community marketing, and putting the remainder $7500 towards writing, facilitation, and shared services, totaling $20,000 for the overall budget. Johnson brought up the idea of using students as interns for the remainder of the commission. Fruin advised against putting out an open call for interns due to government requirements for the hiring process. It was recommended to seek help that would be considered an independent contractor. Simmons recommended Tevin Robbins and Dr. Venise Barry. Simmons suggested prioritizing an event planner within the budget. Kiche asked about the community outreach and engagement specialist that will be hired as city staff through the Office of Human Rights. Johnson asked about the status on commission merch to provide during outreach efforts. Dillard noted that it will be necessary to order more. Dillard mentioned the importance of the subcommittees coming up with a schedule that maps out each committee’s responsibilities through the December 2024 end date. Gathua asked if there was an outline of what is left to do and what is expected for the final report. Dillard reported that the tasks at hand are to focus on the report (with Tassinary leading this work and a suggested date of October-early Nov. to get a report to City Council by its December meeting date) and focusing on community engagement (gathering information and showcasing the commissions potential). Gathua suggested a calendar of events with flexible dates and a general overview of what is to be expected. Dillard offered to work with Kiche on cleaning up the budget to better match the evenings discussion. Motion to approve the budget for phase three and four in the amount of $20,000. It was moved by Dillard and seconded by Johnson. Motion passed 7-0. Simmons abstained. Announcements of commissioners: Gathua asked for commissioners to keep Kenya community members in their thoughts as a way to support community members who’s home of origin is Kenya as their government faces corruption. Dillard shared the upcoming event National Night Out on August 6th as an opportunity to table the event. Announcements of staff: None. The meeting adjourned at 7:54 PM. The full meeting video can be viewed at this link. AD HOC TRUTH & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2024 (Meeting Date) NAME TERM EXP. 1/4 1/25 2/1 2/15 3/7 3/14 3/18 3/20 3/21 4/4 5/2 5/16 6/20 7/18 Dillard 12/31/24 Z P P P P P P P P P P P P P Gathua 12/31/24 P P P P A P P P P P A A Z Z Kiche 12/31/24 - - - P P P P P P P P P P P Johnson 12/31/24 A P P P P P P P P P P P P P Merritt 12/31/24 P Z P P Z P P P P P P A P P Muhamed 12/31/24 - - - - - - - - - - - Z Z Z Simmons 12/31/24 P P P P P P P A P Z P P A P Tassinary 12/31/24 P A P P P P P P P A P P P A Rossi 12/31/24 - - - - - - - - - - - - A Z P = Present in person A = Absent Z = Zoom Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Approved Budget for Phases Three and Four Category Amount Description Special Meeting Accommodations (outside of typical TRC business meetings) $5,000 Special meeting accommodations to include food, participation supplies (paper, pens, flip charts, etc.), rental fees, any other expenses to encourage participation and efficient proceedings Community Marketing $2,500 Social media, radio and other marketing outlets to promote TRC mission and encourage participation from a broad representation of the public Special Event Promotion $5,000 Identifiable clothing for TRC Commissioners (e.g. t- shirts, sweatshirts) for representation at community events. Table runners, banners and small promotional items to promote TRC mission and participation Miscellaneous Pilot Programs, Report Writing, Facilitation and Shared Services $7,500 Allows TRC to create and test efforts to help the community move towards reconciliation prior to final recommendations being made. Examples may include book purchases for a small group healing session, contracting with a subject matter expert for a community lecture / community event, etc. Also includes professional assistance activities such as event planning, report writing, research, and documentation of TRC activities. Total $20,000 Approved July 18, 2024