Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTRC Transcript - February 2, 2023[00:00:00] [00:00:06] [MUSIC] Okay. I think, er, Stef we can go ahead and get started. [00:00:11] Okay. [00:00:18] Recording in progress. [00:00:20] Okay. Commissioner Dillard. [00:00:22] Present. [00:00:23] Commissioner Gathua. [00:00:26] Commissioner Harris. [00:00:29] Here. [NOISE] [00:00:32] Commissioner Johnson. [00:00:33] Here. [00:00:35] Commissioner Krebs. [00:00:36] Here. [00:00:37] Commissioner Merritt. [00:00:39] Here. [00:00:42] Commissioner Nobiss. [00:00:43] Present. [00:00:47] Commissioner Rivera. [00:00:49] Here. [00:00:50] And Commissioner Traore. Okay. [00:00:54] Awesome. So we'll go ahead to agenda item Number 2, reading of Native American land acknowledgments. And it [00:01:00] says, we meet today in the community of Iowa City, which now occupies the homelands of the Native Americans nations to whom we owe our commitment and dedication. The area of Iowa City was within the homelands of the Iowa, Mesquite, and Sock. And because history is complex and time goes far back beyond memory, we also acknowledged the ancient connections of many other indigenous peoples here. The history of Broken Treaties and Forced Removal that dispossessed indigenous peoples of their homelands was and is an act of colonization and genocide that we cannot erase. We implore the Iowa City community to commit to understanding and addressing these injustices as we work toward equity, restoration, and reparations. [NOISE] Um, next, we will move to the approval of meeting minutes from January 19th, 2022. Do I have- what I'm- what's the word I'm looking for? [00:01:56] I move. [00:01:57] Thank you. [00:01:58] Do we have a second? [00:01:59] Second [00:02:00] to pass the meeting minutes. [00:02:03] Then properly moved and seconded to approve the meeting minutes from January 19th, Commissioner Dillard? [00:02:09] Yes. [00:02:10] Commissioner Harris? [00:02:14] Yes. [00:02:15] Commissioner Johnson? [00:02:16] Yes. [00:02:17] Commissioner Krebs? [00:02:18] Yes. [00:02:19] Commissioner Merritt? [00:02:20] Yes. [00:02:21] Commissioner Nobiss? [00:02:23] Yes. [00:02:24] And Commissioner Rivera? [00:02:26] Yes. [00:02:27] Motion passes seven, zero. [00:02:31] Thank you. Next, we'll move to public comments of items, not on the agenda. First, we'll move to people in the room with us. Is there anyone in the room that like to make a comment, not on the agenda? Thank you. Is there anyone online that would also like to make any comments not on our agenda tonight? Okay. So next we'll move on to, uh, Number 5, which is facilitator services priso- proposal just to give us an update. [00:03:00] Um, I- I move that will go to, um, any in the- on- in the room right now for that. Yes. [00:03:11] So I wanted to let you know what's going on. Last week Jeff Fruin sent out a letter with questions related to creating con- a contract with each of the groups involved. So Kearns and West think piece which is Eduardo and Dave, um, the three of us, the local partners, and then the native partners, that's Sakow's introduced us to. So Terry Medina, Manape who you met, Manape Ramila, and, um, Danielle Wa- Wanty. And so- anyway last- last week the three of us, Angie and Vee and I met and looked at the questions and answer them and prepared and everybody's working on their own sections. [00:04:00] We had some ideas for the- the native partners and we're reaching out to them. And finally this morning I was able to- or last night talk with Manape and then today Danielle and tomorrow I'll talk with T. So actually- so- so that's moving ahead. And he wants the answers to those questions so that he can finalize contracts stuff and makes sure that things are- details are crisp for the council. So that's what's happening. And just as an aside, it was really heartening to talk to a Manape for a long time about what he sees and his understanding of things. It was really great and I look forward to the time when you guys have more time with the people who want to be percolating with you ab- about how you want to go about this. Anyway, I'm just bring word [00:05:00] from Manape that that's gonna be a great conversation, I think so. Anyway, any questions? [00:05:11] Well, thank you so much for the updates and as always we look forward to when we can get this moving along. [LAUGHTER] [00:05:17] I know. Right. So- [00:05:19] That cools. [00:05:19] So- so I'm pretty sure that we'll be able to get our parts in maybe as early as tomorrow to Jeff. [00:05:26] Okay. [00:05:26] The latest would be Monday because we want to be moving to. [00:05:30] Thank you, Anne. [00:05:31] And we want you to be moving. [LAUGHTER] [00:05:33] In conversations with, um, city manager, ha- has there been kind of projected timeline on or updated timeline on kinda when kind of the various next steps, uh, might be approaching? [00:05:46] Thank you. What a good question. I don't know the answer to that, you know, but thus- it- it's what we all expect on- on one level. The sooner, the sooner. Right? So, um- [00:05:59] And then my [00:06:00] other question was, you know, long time ago we- there was discussion about, um, to what extent Angie could be involved in these contracts given a potential conflict of interest? [00:06:09] Thanks, Kevin. [00:06:09] Any updates on that? [00:06:11] Yeah. So, um, the parts that she was going to do, um, and that she's still going to do- she's just going to do gratis. And a lot of the tasks that she was going to do became part of the job description for the, um, staff person. And I was wondering myself how soon that would be able to get together. Probably the budget and the proposal has, I don't know, that's a good question. It would seem like that could actually- it's in a different lane, so could go ahead at a different pace. But that would be a good question. Anything else? [00:06:53] Just to note to my fellow commissioners, we should definitely, you know, make sure that we are aware of what's going on with that part of the contract and you [00:07:00] know the hiring process just because we should not let any other black women do free work [LAUGHTER] on behalf of this commission. Uh, [00:07:09] Right- right. And- and you know- you know the reason, right? [00:07:14] Yes. [00:07:15] Okay- okay. And- and so it- it is full choice in wanting to support. So I- I hear you and I'm just saying yes and- [00:07:24] I fully choose to make sure that we're- we're not- [LAUGHTER] we'll do- we can say make sure that she is compensated completely. [00:07:31] Great- great. And- and well, okay. Yes. [00:07:34] And maybe for those who, um, were not a part of the commission, could you re-explain to us all why, um- [00:07:40] The conflict- [00:07:41] The conflict of interests for Angie again. [00:07:43] Right. Her husband is a fire- fire firefighter for the city. So because she's married to- to a city employee, she can't contract separately with the city. [00:07:58] Okay. [00:07:59] Um, [00:08:00] and- and therein lies a conversation on many levels that could be had, but that's the way it is right now. And she still wants to be involved. [00:08:13] Thank you. [00:08:14] Thank you. I see that, uh, Sakow has a question if you'd like to go ahead. [00:08:19] Commissioner Nobiss. [00:08:22] I- I don't have a question, sorry. Is my hand on? [00:08:25] Oh, it was. [00:08:26] It is. [00:08:27] Yes. [00:08:27] It was the mouth. It wasn't me. [00:08:28] Oh, it was an accident. Okay. Is that you, Eric? I'm sorry. Go ahead and rehearse. [00:08:35] Well, so to just speak now like conflicts of interests and, you know, someone spouses city employee and things like that. My question is and maybe a dumb question, but I gotta ask you. Does that, um, like, affect V, because she's a county supervisor and this is gonna be a facilitator for a commission? [00:09:00] I just thought of that when I listened to this conversation. [00:09:05] You know, I- I personally haven't heard that come up. But I'm- [00:09:09] Me either. That's why I ask it. [00:09:11] Yeah- yeah- yeah. So, um, so I'll ask her. [00:09:16] Clear. We don't want to go into it and knows next. [00:09:19] I'm not aware of any concern. [00:09:20] Ju- just counting [OVERLAPPING] nothing has- excuse me, what. [00:09:23] East county and the city so it actually is different? [00:09:27] Of course- of course. And we haven't heard anything from anyone who's fully aware. You know people who think like that are fully aware of her new position. I think that's a good question, Eric. I'll- I have my laptop, so I'll just email her so that we get it hot off the presses, but I haven't heard anything either. [00:09:45] Another clarifying question just for my own knowledge. Do you know if Vee uses both she her and they them pronouns or- [00:09:51] They? [00:09:52] They. [00:09:53] Sorry. Thank you- [00:09:55] Thank you. [00:09:55] Thank you. [00:09:56] Just a friendly reminder to speak into the microphone, please. [00:10:00] Thank you. [00:10:03] Any other questions from fellow commissioners? [00:10:07] Um, have you heard anything- I am sorry. Um, Steph have you heard anything, um, from the city attorney side of how things are going? [00:10:16] Wait- they're waiting to get the responses. And depending on the responses, I think that will kind of determine next steps. [00:10:23] Had they gotten- they've gotten some though correct? [00:10:26] No, there hasn't been any unresponsive. [00:10:31] So they'll get them by tomorrow or Monday at the latest. Thank you. [00:10:35] Okay. Well, there's no other further questions. I think, um, that's all we have for this agenda item. Thank you very much, Annie. [00:10:44] Sure. Good to see you all. [00:10:46] Thank you. Um, and then, um, because I didn't do at the beginning, I'm going to open it up to public comments for this agenda item. If there's anyone online that would like to comment on this. Okay. We will [00:11:00] now move on to Number 6, which is a correspondence. Um, if there's anyone in the, um, the present audience that would like to comment on this for public comments first? Anyone online that would like to comment on this? Okay. Well, I will open it up to fellow commissioners. [NOISE] [00:11:32] This correspondence is, uh, in regards to a public letter condemning- condemning comment made by Professor Clarence Creta calling for suspension and internal investigation. If you want to open up your packets. [00:11:50] And also by, um, I don't exactly know who some of the individuals are, uh, who were involved in the group who, um, forward us this, uh, [00:12:00] open letter, um, but I'm just appreciative of- that they- they thought to include us and to make us aware of this so that we could discuss it. Um, reading the agenda is my first time, uh, reviewing the letter and the comments that were made by Professor Clare Creta. I'm in the Department of Family Medicine, um, at the University of Iowa. Um, I just reached out to a contact, um, who's in family medicine and apparently Dr. Creta is retired. I- I don't have a lot of other independent ways of verifying some of this information but, um, I'm certainly troubled by the, you know, the comments as someone who represents the University of Iowa, um, who's also my employer. Um, [NOISE] I have, uh, forwarded this correspondence to the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at the Carver College of Medicine, um, and I'm going to follow up to see if there's going to be any other sort of institutional follow-up action but I know that this [00:13:00] letter was, um, addressed to, uh, higher administrative staff with the- with the university. So, uh, hopefully we will find more in- in- in weeks about,uh, whether other action might be taken. [00:13:17] This is Commissioner Merritt. And, I mean, I pulled, uh, him up on the College of Medicine website under Department of Family Medicine. And it shows as if he's still active as, um, a professor. There's nothing here that says that he's, um, retired or a merit, so. [00:13:46] Um, this is Commissioner Dillard. I, um, also have not had a chance to read this full correspondence, but I can reach out also to the people that, uh, have emailed us if we all agree and just ask [00:14:00] them to come talk to us, um, as people have in the past, um, and also maybe if there's a group of us under quorum that- that would like to take this on as a- a subcommittee to just meet with them and- and just really see how we can be more of assistance and then bring it to our next meeting or the meeting after. I think that would be the best way to move forward if-. [00:14:21] I'd like to, um be with that, please. [00:14:25] Okay. Awesome. So are we in agreement that would be a good next step for this? And also thank you, Commissioner Rivera, for reaching out to your contacts. [NOISE] [00:14:41] Yeah, definitely would want to speak with him and where did they come to m so nobody would speak to them but I'm reading this letter right now. This doesn't make sense. It's ridiculous. [00:14:51] Awesome. So, um, like I said, I will reach out and see to the best of my ability. I did not receive the email in my email, so I'm going to figure [00:15:00] that out and then I'm not sure why. Uh, so that we can hopefully get them here to talk more about this and have a conversation at our next meeting, uh, to see how the Truth and Reconciliation Commission can actually be of - of service to them. Uh, but I'm- I'm happy to see that people are finding us and- and like reaching out to us so we can fulfill our mission. Go ahead. [00:15:27] I just have one question- [00:15:28] You might want to speak in the mic though. Sorry. [00:15:33] This is, uh, Mohammed. Uh, I just have one clarifying comment. Uh, so just said it's titled public letter condemning comments made by Professor Clarence Creta calling for suspension and internal investigation. So, uh, in terms of the committee that's going to go over there, sort of people that are focusing on it. Just something to keep in mind. Um, [00:16:00] one calling for the suspension and internal investigation, um, thinking about, uh, the process and the monetary aspect of that and if that sets a precedent on what the commission does, and if the, you know, if that's the direction we're willing to go or wanting to go, that's fine but just, um, some things to consider, um. [00:16:24] Can you clarify what you mean by that just so I understand? [00:16:27] I just mean like because there's different types of commissions and different structures to them in different ways they operate and not all of them acting in ways where their recommendations or their actions or things, you know, they continually focused on were for punitive actions specifically. So that- that's just what I mean in that sense. [00:16:49] That makes sense. [00:16:51] This is Commissioner Merritt. But I took from the letters that they want us to have the university encourage them to do internal [00:17:00] investigation and the suspension, not that we would be doing the action because they just talked about these items were, uh, against the policy. I think they gave examples of whatever, and so I think that's how I took this, that they wanted us to try to encourage the university to do the investigation, but we can get that- more clarification after we actually talk to them. [00:17:23] Okay. Yeah. Yeah, um, um. [00:17:27] Yeah. As far as I'm aware, this was sent to us so that we might be- be considering, uh, signing on his individual cosigners of the, uh, of the letter or, uh, we as a body want to co-sign the letter. I don't know if that's wor- worth a larger discussion, but the letter as addressed is to Barbara Wilson, Brooks Jackson, Edith Parker, Sears Sanders, and Stobar, and so they're not asking us to investigate anything. [00:17:53] Okay. Yeah. Uh, I just mean, in terms of like if anyone is taking on this commission business just- by just meaning in the sense of the direction commissions [00:18:00] go is the truth part, but also the reconciliation part. So- so think of that end of, um, it might not end with just the investigation part, but also following along and the next steps and everything because this kinda just smells me more of one of those things with being faithful comments that are being pointed to for the most part. Um, you know, there's probably more people that think in some of these ways, but just don't post it and just going directly for the punitive action without some sort of actual reconciliatory effort, you know, just kind of inflames things a little more, or just makes some people in the community feel some type of way. I'm not saying that you don't have to be partial towards them, but, you know, just the territory we're in. [00:18:53] And also bringing sort of the complexity of un- un- understanding that we as like [00:19:00] a city body that, uh, you know, were not elected officials, however, we are representatives of the city and, you know, we do have, um, a responsibility to make sure that people's constitutional rights are upheld. [00:19:15] Exactly. [00:19:16] Um, my opinion is- is just my opinion. Um, we're here to get truths. So the university, I mean, they're gonna have an internal investigation which we all know that most of the time investigations, a lot of the details are kept secret that I really, you know, then they come to a conclusion at the end, but you never do about that in terms of investigation. So I do want to hear from people so they can tell their truth. And as far as the part about reconciliation, they don't have to [NOISE] go out and hate this guy, this needs to be the [00:20:00] investigation and maybe they can move on from this. There has to be said and truth has to be let out because then maybe you have a chance to move on and maybe you just- everybody can learn a lesson and this type- type of things won't have to happen no more. But I do feel that I do wanna hear from the people because they're gonna do their own internal investigation and they're gonna come up with what they want to come up with. [00:20:27] Worth asking if we do follow up with this group to see like what- what else just sort of they would be asking and if they would be interested in some sort of reconciliatory process with Professor Creta. You know, I think that that's kind of our best method of like approaching, this is really standing by the method of- of, um, how we produce change and better relationships in our community. [00:20:52] I agree. [00:20:54] I agree. That's the- that's the way I want it to end too. They'll just have a reconciliation with him. I don't wanna. [00:21:00] That's the way I think it should end. [00:21:04] Great. So, um, like I said, I will reach out to them and, uh, see if they're open to having a further conversation with, you know, reconciliation in mind and to see exactly what- how they are envisioning we play our part in this. If- are there any other comments or questions on this agenda item? Okay. If not, then we'll move on to the next one, which is agenda item number 7 and follow up on the testimony from the meeting of January 19th. Uh, first I'll open, uh, public comments to people in the room with us. And if there are no comments in the room, we'll go online. If anyone wants to comment online. Okay. If not, I will open it up to commissioners. Uh, I believe, um, everyone received an email from Stephanie. [00:22:00] Um, I reached out to her and asked, uh, about so- there was a couple of legal questions about how- if we could move forward with the testimony from last- our last meeting, uh, with the- the woman who, uh, experienced what she considered racism at her,uh, place of employment? Um, I- did everyone receive that email? Do I need to read it out loud? [00:22:26] That'd be nice. Thank you. [00:22:27] Okay. If you give me one moment I will find it. [00:22:38] Okay. Um, Stephanie wrote to commissioners, I spoke with the city attorney's office and they are okay with the TRC referring them to resources as long as they are trusted community partners or attorneys competent to practice in the field. Because the TRC plans on asking council to approve consultants, to assist them with formulating a structure to receive said testimony, having [00:23:00] them speak again, or bringing others forward, is doing things in the wrong- in the wrong order. To avoid any problems with the city entity weighing in on a matter already being litigated and of- which the TRC has not investigated would be better addressed with the consultants who will be assisting the TRC in setting up a process. [00:23:21] So I- go ahead. [00:23:24] To me it sounds like this might be the perfect first case for our facilitators as soon as we get them, um, on board. Um, that is- after reading that email, that's my first thought. I don't know if anybody else thought the same thing but um- [00:23:41] Yeah, I just thought like, hey, um, let's get a budget if you want us to do things like that, that's my first thought. That'll be great. [00:23:52] Any other thoughts? Go ahead. [00:23:53] Yeah. In relation to that because, uh, the [00:24:00] individual concerned, she won't just wait until we have the facilitator. Uh, I'll share an update on the organizations that- uh, that she went to. So one of them is Legal Aid because, uh, again and again, whenever she had been going- and she mentioned that here when she was speaking. Uh, unfortunately, they have a conflict- they had a conflict, so they were not able to do anything beyond sharing that, uh, because the protocol doesn't even allow them to explain [00:25:00] the conflict. Uh, and when she was- uh, she was, uh, explaining her- when she was sharing her testimony she also- I also refer- she also went to Center for Work and Justice. And they are working with her on that. Yeah so- and she also went to- I also referred her to Iowa workforce so- who are working with her. Yeah, and then I want to leave it there. Yeah. [00:25:52] Thank you for that update. [00:25:53] Yeah. [00:25:57] I'm happy to hear that she is working with, um, [00:26:00] as I think was listed, trusted community partners, um, to help with the litigation part and if it's needed, maybe when we do have our facilitator, she can- if, uh, a testimony or her sharing her truth is needed, that's something I believe we can provide it in the future. [00:26:14] Yeah, and I'll pass on her- she- that she keeps thanking the TRC for listening to her and what we did for her. And by looking at her the interactions I've had with her, she looks much happier about the process, yeah, to me. [00:26:42] Any other comments on this agenda item? Okay. I'll move on to the next agenda item number 8, the Iowa City Community School District, elementary school performance incidents. First, I will go to public comments. No? And then I'll go online. If there's anyone online that would like to [00:27:00] comment. All right. If not, I'll let, um, fellow commissioners take the floor and just, uh, give us an update. [00:27:08] Commissioner Krebs here. Um, so we attended the school board meeting, um, Tuesday, I believe was the 31st, um, and we spoke our testimony in front of the school board. Sikowis provided, um, the recommendations. I will be meeting with Matt Dagner tomorrow. Um, and the Equity Committee for the school reached out and, um, I'll be joining a meeting with them on March 1st, so I have more information, you know, going forward. Nothing planned yet, but we're moving along. [00:27:59] Thank you for the [00:28:00] update. Commissioner Novus, did you have anything you wanted to say? [00:28:06] No. I think Marie gave a good overview. I guess, I just want to add that, um, we've been working with a youth from the district that goes to pretty high and it's been really great to see how powerful they are. And, um, yeah, I mean- I- I really want to see if the school board is going to do any of these things. I'm very curious to see how that turns out. I'm really tired of people calling this stuff out. Looks like no action being taken. So this should be interesting. I'm- I'm very- Yeah. I'd like to see what happens. I can't be at the meeting with the, um, superintendent. Uh, I'm actually driving right now to a reservation in South Dakota, but [00:29:00] I won't be there for the one with the equity committee. And I just want to say thank you to those of you other commissioners who attended school board meeting and provided support. I think that's amazing. And I think we're gonna be on the agenda of the next meeting. Is that not- is that correct, uh, Commissioner Krebs? [00:29:24] Um, I haven't had anything confirmed. Um, when I- I was emailing with the Ruthina Malone and she, um - she wanted us to, you know, meet with, uh, Matt Dagner and before we could be actually put on the agenda. So I think they want- from what I understand, I think they kinda want, you know, an action plan to speak on. I will follow up with her. [00:29:56] We have an updated letter as well that's on the Great Plains Act [00:30:00] Society website. Um, so I would prefer if you want to refer people to, you know, the letter, that great spot to go, it's on our blog. Um, so I guess yeah, we just have to make sure that the pe- you know, superintendent gets the updated letters. Um, in fact, I think I'm gonna go in there and put bullet points for our demands. So it's very clear, but what we're asking for, um, is that- but I'll- I'll do that when I get off the road here. Um, and then, uh, one last thing I wanted to say, uh, what was it now? Um, loved being on the agenda. That's it. I wanted to talk about the press coverage. Um, I'm really happy to see that, you know, the Daily Iowa has taken some interest and, um, that they were- were very good at, um- they really [00:31:00] getting our voices heard like our real voices. I- I often hate interviews because, um, you never come out sounding like you want or they never catch on to the things that are meaningful to you but I think they did a great job of this, so if any- if you all haven't read it, um, yeah plea- please take a look. Uh, I think that's all I have to say. Thank you. [00:31:24] Thank you all. [00:31:26] And I'll be planning to attend with Commissioner Krebs to talk to the superintendent. [00:31:33] I wanted to say Commissioner, um, Marie here, uh, I really appreciated the support also, I- my background has- I've kinda been like a solo, um, justice fighter if you will. And having a support system was literally amazing. It's so amazing, I can't even tell you guys what- how amazing that feels. So [00:32:00] thank you. [00:32:02] I want to piggy-back on, uh, on what Marie you've said. And I- I'm just thinking about since when these incidents started. And as we continue- as it continues being worked on it. I'm thinking on the trauma on the students. And especially since, uh, the board meeting. Uh, we had a student and I'm- I'm saying this because it was a public meeting. And she did say herself, the student, that she's a student, uh, and give her testimony. And even those of us were there, uh, we saw how already she was being affected, [00:33:00] and we could also relate at some level because, uh, uh, those of us who are there, we also got triggered. Some of us started shedding tears. So, I'm interested on us not forgetting the trauma that the cons- the affected students are going through and finding out what the school is doing. I'm not talking about the details, but just what are you doing about this? Probably the district is already doing something, but it would be good to know that. Yeah. [00:33:51] So just to clarify, are you- are you thinking of like, um, support for the students, uh, for the- just to distract [00:34:00] what they deal with? [00:34:01] Counseling. [00:34:02] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's actually a really good idea. [00:34:16] This- commissioner, Lauren- uh Merritt, I think we also talked about getting on maybe the agenda with the city- the city council. Since our letter- the letter went to the city and we responded. And so- and from what I heard from my contact, Stephanie is a person we need to talk to about how to go about, uh, getting on the agenda for a city council meeting. [00:34:40] So, uh, border commission doesn't really have the authority to- to get on a council agenda. You, um, could go to the council meeting and talk to items not on the agenda. [00:34:55] Okay. [00:34:55] And, you know, make request or something. Um, I think it would probably be something [00:35:00] if the council chose to- to meet with, um, the TRC, it would prob- it would be at a work session, not at a, um, formal meeting, but, um, you know, you can make a recommendation request. That's how it's been done in the past. Um, or you can, you know, talk on items not on the agenda at any formal counsel meeting. [00:35:22] So- so we'd become talk on the items are not on the agenda and at that point, we could be asking knowing that they can't respond to whatever we get asked that, you know, if we could work in the future as I've worked- in a workshop to discuss- okay. Look at that. [00:35:42] Okay. [00:35:45] Chair, if it's okay, I wanted to ask a follow-up question of Stephanie. Stephanie if, uh- uh, of an individual, talks, uh, on the items not on the [00:36:00] agenda, does it always get on the agenda? That route? [00:36:09] Well, members of the TRC could go to a formal meeting and ask, and then it's up to council whether or not they would want to set up a work session. So I mean that- it's similar to kind of how your setup, like a community member can ask you to put something on your agenda, but- but ultimately it's, you know, within your purview whether you put it on. Uh, the- the differences is that council usually wouldn't have, uh, open dialogue and of this type at a formal meeting, it would probably be at a work session. And if action comes out of the conversation at the work session, then there may be action items that would then be placed on a formal council agenda, but that- that's kinda how that works. [00:36:54] Thank you. And now I've got a follow-up question. Um, if we come and speak, [00:37:00] uh, you know, items not on the agenda with what we say, which I know there's like a time that is up, does it become part of the minutes of that, um, meeting? Okay. [00:37:18] Any other comments on this agenda item? Okay. Well, again, thank you for the updates, everyone, and we'll just be sure to keep this on the- on the coming agendas. Um, next, we are going to move into, um, the reading that we've been doing, a practical guide to planning collaborative initiatives, events, racial equity section edition 2022 discussion. I unfortunately forgot my book at home, but I was wondering if anyone has any comments on the next section. [00:37:54] I didn't get a chance to read Chapter 3 between meetings. So I'll just be including summary for three with [00:38:00] four at the next meeting. [00:38:02] Thank you for that. Does anyone else have any comments on Section 3? Okay. Well, there's nothing. Uh, we will move on to the next and I didn't see anyone online. We'll move on to the final, which is announcements or commissioners and stuff. Uh, first, Stephanie, do you have any announcements for us? [00:38:23] Well, just an FYI, I have a conflict for your next meeting. And I will follow up with the city manager's office to see if they can have somebody sub or, you know, but that's- that would be the goal to keep you on schedule. But if not, I- you know, I don't- this isn't an agenda item, but you may get an email from me asking if you would consider moving it to either the following week, which I believe is the 23rd or something of that nature. But- but if somebody in the CMO's office can- can come and do it, then that will keep you on schedule. So- so I will I will know more tomorrow. [00:39:00] Okay. Thank you. [00:39:02] Fellow commissioners, any announcements? [00:39:07] Um, yeah, I got one. Um, a while back, maybe about two or three weeks ago, um, a lady had called me and she's- she and her husband had passed away. And so she knows that at times, you know, I worked with inside out why my work with Kathy worker house. Well, she- [NOISE] she donated me about 30-40 suits with belts, all the accessories. The only thing is that the husband and he was big and tall. So what I'm saying is, if anybody knows anybody that wants to get suits given to them, get a hold of me. Because if not, my wife is going to keep on about all these suits in the house. [00:40:00] And they're pretty nice too. [00:40:07] Thank You, Commissioner Harris. Anyone else? [00:40:11] Oh, yeah. It's commissioner Johnson. Uh, I just wanted to say thanks, uh, to city council on, uh, looking into, uh, the city ordinance, uh- uh to help out with the Golden Gloves as of right now to make sure that everything clears. I just wanted to say thank you for, uh, swiftly looking over things and, uh, hopefully, uh, things will pass through even further later on down the line. So just wanted to say thank you. I appreciate it. [00:40:42] Thank you, Commissioner- Commissioner Johnson. Anyone else? All right. This is- [00:40:49] Sorry [LAUGHTER]. This is Commissioner Rivera. Happy Black History Month. And, um, I know that, uh, there's once again, kind of, [00:41:00] um, national news that are harrowing, uh, for communities nationwide. Um, and so I just want to hold space for kind of whatever grieving, uh, you, um, as an individual or among your communities are doing. Um, and I hope that, um, we're all taking care of ourselves. [00:41:24] Thank you, Commissioner Rivera. Anyone else? Um, I will go as Commissioner Dillard. Um, this morning, I went to the Johnson County Sue- Johnson County Supervisors and accepted the Black History Month Proclamation, which I have in front of me that you all can look at. Um, and as, you know, Commissioner Rivera just pointed out, um, happy Black History Month, but it does, you know, come at another time of sadness. So, um, I hope we're all taking care of ourselves and, uh, just remembering how important this commission is, um, for months to come, [00:42:00] so. Um, and then also, my organization in celebration of Black History Month is having a heart and soul full breakfast on Valentine's Day, um, at our Broadway neighborhood center from 08:00 AM to 10:00 AM. Um, we are- this is for everyone. It's really geared towards the families, um, and youth that come to our centers, but the whole community can come out if you want more information, just follow up with me. If there's no other comments, um, I will look for a motion to adjourn. [00:42:32] I move to adjourn. [00:42:34] And a second. [00:42:35] A second. [00:42:38] All right.