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Home My WebLink AboutTRC Agenda 12 5 2024 Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission Thursday, December 5, 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 NOVEMBER 21, 2024. 5. PHASE FOUR: A. REQUEST FOR EXTENSION. B. FINAL REPORT. C. RECOMMENDATIONS. D. SCHEDULE PRESENTATION FROM IOWA CITY CATHOLIC WORKER FOR DECEMBER 19, 2024 MEETING DATE. E. OTHER. 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 November 21, 2024 Draft Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Minutes Emma Harvat Hall Commissioners present: Lou Tassinary, Wangui Gathua, Amos Kiche, Lauren Merritt. Commissioners on Zoom: Chastity Dillard, Lubna Mohamed. Commissioners not present: Clif Johnson, Kayla Rossi, Chad Simmons. Staff present: Stefanie Bowers. Recommendation to City Council: Yes, the TRC request for the City Council to allow them to continue to work on its final report with a delivery date of June 30, 2025. Motion passed 6-0. Meeting called to order: 7:02 PM. Reading of Land Acknowledgement: Tassinary read the Land Acknowledgement. Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda: None. Approval of the Minutes from November 7, 2024: Kiche moved, and Merritt seconded. Motion passed 5-0. (Mohamed not present). Actions for Phases Three and Four: The person who has been selected to write the commission’s final report to be presented to the City Council will require two months to write the report from the date the agreement is signed, which would push the commission outside of its December 31, 2024, end date. Merritt asked staff what the earliest date to be approved for an extension from City Council would be. Staff answered the soonest the commission would know about approval for an extension would be December 10th. Dillard suggested requesting June 1st for the extension of the final due date. Dillard noted this would allow ample time for both the individual writing the report and the commission to contribute to the report. Tassinary brought up the possibility of being denied an extension from City Council and the need for a backup plan. Dillard said if they do not get an extension then they will let City Council know they did not have enough time and they can give City Council whatever information they do have at that time. Tassinary encouraged commissioners to take time writing down points they would like to see in the report and using that as information to hand over in the case that the commission is denied an extension. Kiche expressed his thoughts on the need for an extension and mentioned it would be up to the City Council to help the commission understand why they would not be granted an extension 2 considering the time and work the commissioners have put in. Gathua added that if commissioners are present then they may be a part of the discussion with City Council. Tassinary asked staff if there were any special requirements for the commissioners to be involved in the December 10th Council meeting as attendees contributing to the conversations. Staff noted there are no special requirements. Merritt asked staff if the decision would be part of the work session or formal meeting. Staff answered that any decision would be made in the formal meeting. Kiche shared his thoughts on the importance of including the difficulties the commission has faced in the report to be useful for future groups and commissions to learn from. Kiche mentioned if there is a lack of time to write the report these important aspects may be left out. Dillard mentioned that the June 1st date would be the bare minimum amount of time for the report to be completed. Merritt mentioned that they would not want to request an extension beyond June 30th because that would enter another fiscal year. Dillard mentioned the possibility of the report writer needing additional time (beyond the two months) to complete the report. Merritt agreed extra time may be needed and the June 1st date allows more than two months for the report to be written. Tassinary spoke about the wording of the agreement between the commission and the report writer. Tassinary would like the agreement to state the deliverables along with dates to avoid the report not being finished on time. Dillard suggested an extension date of June 30th to allow for the most amount of time possible with anticipation of finishing sooner. Gathua asked if the June extension date is for the TRC or for the report writer. It was clarified that the June date would be for the TRC, and the final report date would be discussed and decided before then to give the report to City Council by the final extension date. Gathua asked staff when the commission should have the report by to turn it into City Council on time. Staff answered that the decision may be appropriate for a later meeting once the commission has an answer from City Council and more communication with the report writer. Merritt suggested making the decision on dates and expectations during the commissions next meeting. Motion by Tassinary to request an extension through June 30, 2025, to allow them to continue to work on the final report. Motion seconded by Gathua. Motion passed 6-0. Gathua asked the commission if they would like the Catholic Workers to come do a presentation relevant to issues being faced after the 2025 presidential elections-mass deportations. Tassinary asked how long the presentation is likely to be. Gathua said the last presentation she attended lasted about an hour, but there is a possibility of it taking less time. Tassinary agreed it would be a good idea but would like to ensure the commission has enough time to focus on the contract and the report. Dillard agreed the commission may need to prioritize more pertinent tasks, including the report, before they take on any additional tasks. Gathua shared she intended to include the work from the presentation in the final report as it pertains to the commission’s mission. Kiche argues the presentation is relevant to the commission’s work and is important to provide the presentation as a resource to community members. Staff reminded commissioners that the report needs to include their recommendations. Dillard agreed with staff and suggested postponing the Catholic Workers presentation to their December 19th meeting to prioritize the recommendations. The commission agreed to focus on the recommendations at their December 5th meeting. 3 Announcements of Commissioners: None. Announcements of Staff: None. The meeting adjourned at 7:44 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. 4/4 5/2 5/16 6/20 7/18 8/1 8/15 9/5 9/19 10/3 10/17 11/7 11/21 Dillard 12/31/24 P P P P P P A P P Z P P Z Gathua 12/31/24 P A A Z Z Z A Z P P P A P Kiche 12/31/24 P P P P P P P P P P P P P Johnson 12/31/24 P P P P P P P P A A A A A Merritt 12/31/24 P P A P P P P Z A Z A A P Muhamed 12/31/24 - - Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z A Z Z Simmons 12/31/24 Z P P A P A A A Z Z A Z A Tassinary 12/31/24 A P P P A P P A P A P P P Rossi 12/31/24 - - - A Z A A A A A Z A A P = Present in person A = Absent Z = Zoom