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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTRC Transcript - January 5, 2023[00:00:00] [00:00:06] [MUSIC] 7:10. We'll call this meeting to order. Commissioner Dillard. [00:00:17] Present. Sorry, I had issues with my computer. [00:00:20] That's all right. Uh, commissioner Johnson. [00:00:24] Here. [00:00:26] Commissioner Krebs. [00:00:27] Here. [00:00:29] Commissioner Rivera. [00:00:30] Here. [00:00:31] Commissioner Merritt. [00:00:32] Here. [00:00:34] And commissioner Harris. [00:00:36] Here. [00:00:43] [NOISE] Next, we'll have the reading of the Native American land acknowledgment. I guess I can do that. [LAUGHTER] We meet today in the community of Iowa City, which now occupies the homelands of Native American nations to whom we owe our commitment [00:01:00] and dedication. The area of Iowa City was within the homelands of the Ioway, Mesquakie, and Sauk, and because history is complex and time goes far back beyond memory, we also acknowledge the ancient connections of many other indigenous peoples here. The history of broken treaties and forced removal, that dis- uh, dispossess 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. Uh, next, the approval of the meeting minutes from December 1st. We had- [OVERLAPPING] [00:01:51] There a- a motion to approve? [00:01:54] Do we have a second? [00:01:56] Yes, second. [00:02:00] [NOISE] Then properly moved and seconded to approve the minutes from the December 1st meeting date. All those in favor say aye. [00:02:08] Aye. [00:02:09] All opposed? Anyone abstaining? Motion carries. The motion passes, excuse me. [00:02:18] Okay. Next, um, public comment of items not on the agenda. There's no one in the building, Anybody online? Okay. I think we'll move on to the next. Um, so the Iowa City- Iowa City School District elementary school performance incident. [00:02:47] [OVERLAPPING] [00:02:47] That's just the agenda. [00:02:55] [inaudible 00:02:55] Stefanie [inaudible 00:02:56] - [OVERLAPPING] [00:02:56] It's- [OVERLAPPING] [00:02:58] Even if it's not in the agenda there's more in the packet. [00:03:00] Can we open it up to public comment? [00:03:05] Ready. For this number 6? [00:03:09] Yes. Um, yes, open up to public comments. Anybody online like to comment? Okay. Those sitting here, uh, I'm assuming you've had a chance to look at the letter that was written. Any thoughts you'd like to bring up? Yeah. [00:03:45] Well, I would say that with all these different testimonies, uh, it's kind of disturbing, and I kind of browse through some of the stories and they kind of disturbing. And [00:04:00] some of this has to be true, maybe all of it because this is a lot of testimony and I really hope that, well, there's testimony, so you can't call people testimony not true, but I really wish this wasn't true because some of this that I'm reading is disturbing. [00:04:22] Um, so I support the letter obviously, um, and I've had, uh, some interactions with, uh, the school districts, so, uh, I attended one of the equity committee meetings and, um, they're aware of what happened. They were really supportive and, um, Eliza Proctor, who is the executive director of the elementary school, she called me, she's my, um, kids, old principal at Lemme. She's always been pretty helpful, so she called me and talk to me about, uh, the situation and the school district does seem to be, um, really supportive [00:05:00] and open. Um, so I hope that continues. [00:05:03] So when you say supportive, what does that mean? [00:05:07] Um, so they are waiting for the letter to see what, um, you know, we're recommending, um, to help rectify the situation. Uh, so we'll see how that goes. But, uh, the communications have been open and- [00:05:25] Okay. [00:05:26] -very supportive at this time. [00:05:29] They offer anything on their own? [00:05:32] Um, so when I spoke with- uh, they did not offer, um, specific slants, uh- [00:05:42] Okay. [00:05:42] They are asking for recommendations, they are like basically how can we make this way, how can we make it better, um, and I guess in my opinion, that's the- that is inappropriate way to handle the situation at this time because as far as I know, [00:06:00] they don't have, um, visionary leadership. Um, so I- I felt that was appropriate. [00:06:11] Okay. [00:06:12] So we'll see, um, once we- once we have the letter and have the action steps and things will see how things go. [00:06:19] Okay. [00:06:22] This is commissioner Rivera and I echo commissioner Harris's thoughts. This is- it's- it's really hard, um, because I have, um, a lot of respect for the letter writers and for the stories that they've shared with not only us, but city council, the school district or community, um, it takes a lot, uh, to open up and be willing to share stories and testimonies like this. Although, um, I do think them. Uh, I- I mentioned this, um, prior to us calling the meeting, um, but stories like these are exactly what- what this commission was set up to [00:07:00] hear. Um, and I think that these provide a really, um, good small example, um, for the fact that there are truths in our community that no- have not yet been discovered or, um, regarded, or respected, uh, and that need to be brought to the fore, um, so that, um, our community can respond appropriately. Um, so I- I thank the letter writers for their bravery and that includes, um, two of our own commissioners, um, so thank you. Um, I- I think that, um, there have been some, um, some recommendations, um, that were included at the bottom of the letter. Um, I can count, uh, the recommendation that, um, teachers and affiliate teaching staff received the book Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 years. I can see the recommendation, um, that, uh, if the [00:08:00] school board cannot afford it, that, um, there be supported funding from another source. Um, I see the recommendation for anti fa- racism training, um, specifically for understanding indigenous peoples and their cultures, um, for that to happen annually. Um, and I also see a recommendation for, um, a proper Indigenous Peoples Day celebration. Um, and- and so I- I think that as a commission, um, one of the best ways for us to support, um, the primary indigenous voices who came up with these testimonies and our, you know, community-minded individuals, um, who, uh, have voiced what they hope to see. I think that we as a commission can, um, make a fairly simple recommendation, which is that, um, we support, um, the recommendations made by the letter writers and we can make that recommendation or, um, a statement to the city. So somehow finessing that but that's- I'm gonna be mo-, um, moving [00:09:00] towards a motion, something along those lines, after further discussion. I see a hand. [00:09:12] Hello. [00:09:17] Hi. This is Sikowis. [00:09:20] Hi. [00:09:20] Can you hear me? [00:09:22] Yeah. [00:09:22] Yeah. I wanted to apologize for being late. I was in a very important meeting that ran over. Um, I was trying to get off and get on here in time. Uh, thank you for reading the letter and I'm just so sorry, I'm late. Um, can someone catch me up just really quickly? [00:09:39] We've really only started, um, the discussion on this topic, um. [00:09:42] Oh great. Okay. [00:09:43] Um, you're not missing too much. [00:09:45] Your time is perfect. [00:09:46] Um, your time is perfect and you don't necessarily need- you don't need to apologize. Um, we know that you're such a change agent in our community, so thank you for hopping on here as soon as you could. [00:09:56] I should still be on time. Sorry about that. Thank you. [LAUGHTER] [00:10:00] [00:10:01] Did you have anything to contribute, uh, Commissioner Nobiss? [00:10:04] Um, well, thank you for reading the letter. Um, as you can see, it has the testimony from I think about four of us on there at the moment. I believe there's, um, four- yeah, and different- different incidences as well as you- as you can see. Um, so yeah, thank you so much for, uh, proposing that the tiers feedback the letter and um, I know the TRC was going to write their own letter as well. The letter- writing just kinda went in this direction, as- as you can see, I became more of like indigenous peoples writing a letter, uh, and then I thought, yeah, it'd be great. We will just write this letter from the indigenous peoples of Iowa City, which seems more fitting in a way, right? Um, in terms of testimony. And then, um, have you, um, back and if you're willing to. [00:10:55] Yeah I- this is commissioner Marie. I was thinking of yes responding because [00:11:00] since the letter was addressed to us as well as the other agencies that we would respond in, especially in support of [LAUGHTER] a lot of your recommendations and calling out, I mean the school district and whoever that, you know, this needs to change and this is how we would like that change to go forward. So- and letter was wonderful, right? Thank you so much. Sure. You know, putting so much effort into that. [00:11:26] Well, yeah. I mean, I just did the bones and honestly, the testimony is the important part and that's thanks to Marie and- and Eloise and Alycia. Um, so yeah, I guess the question is like- and so- you know I was- I was wondering like whether we should have you on there because like literally, um, you know, the TRC of the problem, right? But I thought let's add them because then they know that the TRC knows, right? Um and I also, I was considering putting the Human Rights Commission on there. Um, I love some, uh, you know [00:12:00] advice on that if you're interested. Um and, you know, uh, that's really where we're at. I mean, uh, Marie and I are, um, ready to go to the next board meeting on the 10th. Um, I'm about to send an email out to, um, like the local indigenous folks, uh, to show up as a group. And, um, you know, we hope TRC members, if you can make it, that would be great too. And, um, the- the next step after that is to also meet with the diversity committee, which we've sort of been, uh, setting up, I mean and- and Marie can talk more to that. Um, and I believe that, uh, Eloise has, uh, already met with them for like, and so they know. Uh, I don't know if it's the same diversity committee though. I- I do have to figure that out. [00:12:55] Is that the meeting that I attended Sikowis? [00:12:58] Yes. [00:12:59] Okay. So that was the [00:13:00] Equity Committee, um, and I spoke on that. Uh, I- I let everyone know that, um, we've had, you know, very- people have seem very supportive and open, um, and Commissioner Marie asked a good question of what steps have the school taken. Um, they- they are actually waiting for like our letter, uh, to come through from my standpoint. Um, I felt it was appropriate for them to ask for our input as I don't know of any indigenous, uh, leadership in the school district. So that was- I don't know if you have any thoughts on that. [00:13:44] I mean, you're right. I don't think there is and that's what the Diversity and Equity Committee is supposed to take care of [LAUGHTER]. Um, so yeah, we just need to meet with them next and, um, just keep going. And, you know, [00:14:00] the thing I want to make sure we don't do is turn this into like, a contentious, like council culture kind of thing, trying to get people fired kind of thing. Like, I'm really hoping that we can create a better culture um, in the school district and in Iowa City in general uh, concerning how native people are treated. And, um, that's the whole point of this. So, you know, I'm really hoping to see the school district and the City of Iowa City step up. And if they don't step up, then we can talk about [LAUGHTER] being upset, like really upset, you know. Um, we're giving them a chance, essentially and we're giving them a very- very wide open arms open kinda chance, honestly, because like we could have taken this, went into social media, you know, got really like upset about it and flipped out and like, you know, just really made a huge like social media spectacle of it and gone to the media right away. But like, you know I really wanna see if we can work together and [00:15:00] like that's the better way to do things. And so, um, like that's- that's what I'm really hoping to see. [00:15:08] I just wanted to kind of reflect on the fact that, um, the- the letter was written and I just really commend all of you and- and kind of communicating exactly that tone commissioner, that you were kinda mentioning of, you know, a- avoiding this idea of making accusations and saying there are these certain bad actors in the system and we need to take them out. No, the recommendations right, are we need to add positive value to our indigenous community and here are very concrete ways that you can do that. And again, I think that there's just a lot of really good elements for us to use as- as examples as this commission moves forward. Um, one question that I have is, is this a draft of the letter, um, or is this, um, is this finalized? [00:15:51] It's- it's not necessary- I mean, it's- we've sent it out to a couple of people, but like honestly, I'm sure it could use a few edits. [LAUGHTER] [00:15:59] Yeah. One [00:16:00] reason I'm asking that is because, you know, if it's not finalized, I'm not sure if we can make, um, a recommendation on it, but I mean, I don't know, Stefanie, if we can say the text is we've received it, we support the recommendations and requests that are included with- with that suffice. [00:16:17] Oh, yeah. We can say it's finalized. I mean, if anything is edited, it'll just because there's a spelling mistake like. [00:16:23] Okay- okay. [00:16:24] That's fine. [00:16:24] Okay. [00:16:26] So you- I'm wondering whether we can actually respond to-. [00:16:29] Yeah. [00:16:30] This is the final. [00:16:31] Yeah, we've received-. [00:16:32] And this is gonna go to the school, then we can move on. Okay. [00:16:37] Yeah. [00:16:38] And then I'm sure Marie, you'd probably want to respond right now to before they start talking about I guess, you know, supporting it. [00:16:49] Yeah. Um, I don't- I think I don't have anything else to add. I support the letter. I think it's fabulous. I know you wrote it while you were so sick, [00:17:00] and I just think that's amazing. And you do great work. So I appreciate that you put the letter together and, um, appreciate the support. And I also speaking, you know I guess to add to what you were saying about this being a learning experience, um, Ms. Proctor, the Executive Director of the elementary schools called me personally, and- and that was the sentiment I- I expressed also, like I want this to be a learning experience. I don't think anything that's malicious, um, and she seemed really supportive and said we can reach out to her too. [00:17:36] Yeah. And when we go to the school board, like, yeah, I don't want it like we don't, we're going to read her letter and we're just I hope we can- I hope we can convince them to do the right thing. [00:17:46] Yeah. [00:17:49] Yeah. I think if we- we propose it as these are some things that they can, um, look into certain educational, um, resources, [00:18:00] people, uh, they can bring into the school district. I guess mentions maybe once a year that they do something specific to the indigenous community and whatever and then we talk about the books that they could actually put into the curriculum on a regular basis, I think for a very specific to what they can do, rather than leaving it to open-ended. Um, I think that maybe be pretty receptive to that. What do you think? [00:18:30] That'd be great? Yeah. Um, just give me one second. [LAUGHTER] [00:18:38] Sorry. [00:18:39] Is that your important meeting? [00:18:41] Yeah. [LAUGHTER] [00:18:42] Yes. [LAUGHTER] Sorry about that. [LAUGHTER] Um, so, yeah that's the one reason why- [00:18:51] Sorry. I have a lot of- [00:18:52] You go on. [00:18:54] I have a lot of follow-up questions as they're coming to me. So hopefully you don't mind. Um, uh, one, [00:19:00] maybe a separate request that we can kind of ask of these. Um, I know that you guys are planning to present it to the school board meeting and all of these things. But I wonder if we, as a commission, um, could recommend to like city officials, um, and ICCSD Board officials that they have a private meeting with you guys to discuss some of these recommendations in further detail. One thing that I'm trying to anticipate, right, is um, e.g. the recommendation like invest in proper Indigenous Peoples Day celebration. You know, I think that with a recommendation like that, they would be eager to hear what's lacking and what needs to be added to a celebration. Or like what you as a community or what the community might envision for a celebration like that. And so um, I don't want them to just receive this letter and take [00:20:00] off running and start making their own decisions because I want them to be in communication with the community that's not involved. Um, so would that be along- in the spirit of what you guys are hoping for? [00:20:14] Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and honestly, I don't want to, like I don't want to forge- like anybody to forget this isn't just about the Iowa Schools- the Iowa City School District, right? This is also about the City of Iowa City and the harms of different perpetrated as well, which is more in line with what we're doing right here with the TRC. And um, like I'm going to justify right now, [LAUGHTER] actually about the City of Iowa City, I should have put it on the letter. Um, you know, like it's- it's almost like it's expected that like a small non-profit like uh, scrapings Action Society would have to come in and apply for like, amusely $5,000, right? And make an Indigenous Peoples Day happen and raise [00:21:00] the rest like somehow somewhere, um, and then do all the labor and work to make it happen. And then like, what does the city, how does- what happens? What does the city get? Well, they benefit from it, right? They benefit from the diversity, the culture that we're bringing into it. Um, and then, you know, uh, as Iowa city has, like obviously they- they- they want to look good. They look good, right? So Johnson County has stepped up and created a diversity equity and inclusion committee and has promised me that they're going to work with GPos this year to do an Indigenous Peoples Day event. And honestly, I love to see the City of Iowa City like step in and just help make it happen and not rely on the labor of like a small indigenous organization that's doing work across the entire state and Nebraska to make this happen. Like, sorry, I feel like I'm going a little bit off book, um, [00:22:00] in terms of like what we're asking, but like you really reminded me, just know of how little this city has put into, um, the inclusion and the upliftment and the empowerment of indigenous peoples in the city. And even just the recognition, like there's such an eraser and lack of recognition of indigenous peoples here. Even the we're a small population, like this is stolen land, right? This is like the Stolen Land of a Sac, the Fox and the IOA. And so it would be nice to at least, you know, have an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration, um, instead of just the proclamation, which is frankly super easy to do. And um, and I'm saying this right now, obviously, like you're just been brutally honest, but I'm hoping it comes off in the best possible way, like I'm saying this so that the city can hopefully hear me, um, and want to like, you know, correct this like this path that they've been going down for years. And, um, yeah, like make it just- just, you know, give us a day too, you know. [00:23:00] Um, you know, I love Juneteenth, I love Latin, uh, Latin Fest. And, um, let's also uplift like the original peoples of this continent. [00:23:15] That's impressive. The Johnson County has already gone forward with this. Maybe the city and the county could do a collaboration to do a joint event or something that would be great. [00:23:28] Yeah. And the TRC, maybe we can- we can all back this and we can just say, yeah, this is a great idea. And yeah, great. Als- I kind of love the idea of us having a meeting with them and proposing things like much greater than what is just in that letter. So thank you very much, Commissioner. [00:23:50] I just have a clarification quite Miss Mohamed, I have a clarification question on the Testimony 1D. So just that last sentence about the same class. She engaged [00:24:00] me in an over 15 minute conversation that lasted until the end of the period about me being overly defensive. Do we know if it's like was this conversation in front of the entire class, or like outside in the hallway or just them too, or inside the class speaking together. [00:24:16] I can clarify that, um, in the- I can clarify that with the person who wrote it and then just add it in there. I- because I don't know. But that's- that's a good question. [00:24:30] I just wanted to add and I'm not saying that to try to mention in any way, just asking for just more context in terms of just wondering like was this person, you know, kind of having an argument back- and-forth with the teacher in front of like, every single kid in the class? Because that's like, wow, that's- sounds much worse. [00:24:48] That's a great catch. I will if it's okay with the TRC or Stefanie, I can add that in there if- just like clarification? [00:24:57] Yeah, that's fine. [00:24:58] Okay. Yeah. [00:25:00] So I don't want to keep too much time on this. I mean, um, Marie, do you have anything to add? [00:25:06] No. I think that was a great question, Mohamed. [00:25:12] I have a quick question. She said it's going to be people go into the school board meeting on the 10th, which is just next, what day is it? [00:25:22] Yes. So next Tuesday, um, 06:00 o'clock at 17:25 North Dodge Street will be the school board meeting. [00:25:31] Okay. [00:25:36] I'm Commissioner Rivera, I am currently drafting a recommendation. I'll just need a few more minutes on it if we want to move over, move on to another agenda item and then come back to this, um, or motion, I think I would be allowed. [00:25:53] I'm okay with that. [00:25:54] Just want to give a clarification on the, uh, location that 17:25 North Dodge Street. So that is [00:26:00] the IOC community school district's kind of like, headquarters building. That helps people find it a little easier. [00:26:08] Like near ACT? [00:26:09] Yeah. [00:26:09] In that area? [00:26:10] Okay. [00:26:14] This is Commissioner Johnson, I'd just like to thank you as well for righting this out. This is pretty clear and easily able to be comprehended in and, uh, sad. It really is. Reading through it and seeing that we're still having these small, not even small, I may re-word that, having these issues. Because book it by far it's not small. And I really appreciate you taking the time to do this, and I support it wholeheartedly, so, thank you. [00:27:00] [00:27:02] We'll move on to the next item and then we'll come back just so facilitator services proposal. [00:27:11] Yeah. That I was just going to provide an update on that. [00:27:14] Okay. Thank you. [00:27:15] So since you last met, which would have been the December 1st, the city reached out to the consultants to see if they would consider merging the different proposals into one. We heard back from them this week and they would like to keep it how it was presented to the TRC. And so what we will be doing moving forward then and I do wanna, um, mention that we realized city staff, the consultants, that time is of the essence on- on getting this in front of Council. But- uh, so we'll be working on, um, the scope of services, basically, the agreements for- for each consultant. [00:28:00] And the general terms and conditions that the city requires in order to contract, um, with a consultant. And once we get those drafted, we will send those to each consultant for their review, approval, and hopefully signature. It's- sometimes there is kind of back-and-forth on minor changes and agreements. But once we get those signed agreements back from each of them, then the city would like to bring the signed agreements back to the TRC to make sure this is, you know, what you want and this is what you want to recommend a council. And then if you approve that after reviewing all the agreements, then it would go on the next council agenda. [00:28:46] As of right now, how many- so, how- how many agreements have to be drafted? [00:28:52] At this time there would be four. You know, in the future, it looks like from some of the proposals there might be additional parties that are [00:29:00] brought into this process, but at this time it's four. [00:29:08] Stefanie, I had a quick question. Why did the city propose that they all, uh, merge? [00:29:15] Um, I think they were kind of concerned about, um, oversight. Um, it- most of the time when you enter in a consultant agreement, um, if there's multiple parties, you have one main consultant who then, um, it's kind of responsible for- for the progress and the success of the agreement or the project that is being contracted for. And- and so I think it was just really trying to- there's nothing- I want to make sure that I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with four proposals separately being approved and sent to the city council. It just, you know, for I think from the city's [00:30:00] perspective, based upon experience, they have found it easier to- to have one agreement that encompasses all the facilitators, but you have an under- It's kind of like subcontracting. So, you know, and so it's easier to have this contractor who, you know, is making sure that everybody is doing what they're supposed to be doing and- and making sure that the deliverables in the sculpts of services are- are being completed and completed in a timely manner. [00:30:38] And thanks for that response. And so do you have an anticipated date if everything goes perfectly, how soon we can get it in front of city council? [00:30:49] Um, so if- if everything that the goal date is, for- we would have the agreements for the- for each of you to review on your first meeting in February. [00:31:00] And so that means that we wouldn't be able to put it before city council until at least the middle of- mid February, if not the end of February? [00:31:10] Um, let me look at the calendar to see. Um, actually, it looks like you would meet on the 2nd and so the council would meet on the 7th. And so I think that it can probably be, you know, placed on that agenda on the 7th. But this is all, you know, with the understanding that everything is moving the way we hope it does, so that we can get it to you on the 1st. [00:31:32] But this is assuming that it gets drafted, it gets presented to each of the facilitators they get back to the city attorney with whatever the recommendations to the final. [00:31:45] Whatever, you know, edits they have or suggestions for changes that just, you know, and they may not have any. But, um, I- I mean, I have no reason to believe that the consultants aren't as eager as each of you are to- to keep this momentum going and to keep moving forward. And so [00:32:00] I, you know, I don't really see there being a lot of hiccups at that point. [00:32:06] I see that V has her hand raised. [00:32:11] So do you want to then go to public comment now? [00:32:15] Yes, that's right. [00:32:17] Sorry about that. [00:32:21] Hi. Yeah. Thank you. Can you hear me? [00:32:24] Yes. [00:32:24] Okay. Great. Thank you. Yeah. I just- uh, thank you so much for, you know, having this on the agenda and appreciate the update. I just wanted to reiterate what, uh, Stefanie just said. We are just as eager to get started and everybody has a like highest on their priority to be as responsive to the city. I do want to say in the conversation that we had with the city, you know, we had in the proposal, just wanted to keep it the way it was, um, because that's how we felt comfortable. And, you know, to the city manager friends credit, you [00:33:00] know, he also acknowledged that, you know, there is some of, you know, the white culture saying that we want everything as neat and tidy as possible. Um, and so he- he acknowledged that which I just wanted to put out there, was really impressed with that, you know, there's an acknowledgment that like even within this process, there are things that we are working against. And so, uh, wanted to relay that and that we had a really great conversation with the city and feel really good moving forward, uh, and that it is highest on our priority. So just wanted to say that and answer any other questions people have. [00:33:46] Thank you for that V. I don't have any questions. Great, thank you. [00:33:56] I guess I have one quick question. [00:34:00] Just in terms of the status of each of the groups. Just kind of wondering where we're at with Eduardo's group and that side and then also, uh, Larry's group in their side since we're typically hearing from yourself, Angie. [00:34:20] Yeah. So we are meeting- we still- I think it's honestly the holidays kind of kicked in there for everybody. But yeah, I- I have been in communication Nanny is out of town. And so our local team is holding it down, but we are in constant communication with them. So everybody is in, you know, good- good standing. Just I think with the holiday is also kind of got a little scary. But, um, yeah, feel very confident that we're all on board. [00:34:51] Thank you. [00:34:59] Thank [00:35:00] you. [00:35:04] Is there any other public comment? [00:35:10] We're in present? So go into the next item. Do you think? [00:35:21] I'm- we are dealing stuff, Stefanie, the text of what I've just written down, if you can. But you- would you be able to put it up on the screen if I do email it to you. I'm sorry, I'm sending it right now. [00:35:40] Yeah. We're going back to Item 6. [00:35:42] You've sent it via email, I'm guessing? [00:35:44] Yeah. [00:35:45] Okay. It hasn't shown up yet. [00:35:49] Should we go to eight and then go back to six? Sure. Okay, so we'll go to Item 8 and then we'll go back to six. [00:36:00] I think [inaudible 00:36:02] Okay. [00:36:33] All right, so um, yes now we're on agenda item Number 8, a practical guide to planning collaborative initiatives to advance racial equity section edition 2022 discussion. So this is er, that book that we were sent by the divided community project out of um, Ohio State. And um, I [00:37:00] think we had talked before when we had met last about it's looking to go through this booklet and trying to just learn as much as possible from it. Or at the very least, going through the booklet, and looking to take some notes, um, and the best learnings that we could find. In terms of the first section here, um, on my way over, I add- I actually emailed to both the Ad Hoc truth email so for everybody to receive and also to Stefanie. Um, my notes for the first chapter itself. Um, so I wasn't sure if everyone had had a chance to-to get- to read it all, but wanted to at least provide my notes for that first section if that was helpful. Um, provided them in both bullet point format. Bullet point format is just a little shorter, about six bullet points and then I'm just another summary right under that, just more of a sentence structure. [00:38:00] Just kinda help people that maybe are in the public and wondering what this truth thing is about and also for commissioners in case you just have another time to go through it. But for the main learnings that we're coming out of it, um, for that second section in sentences, I was just sure to bold some of the main things that I've seen, and also just put some things in italics, but some of the things that I'd read in there, we're about how the initiatives that they're studying and looking at, we're deferring in terms of how they were structured or how they're approaching things, but there are some commonalities that we're seeing. Especially with the ones that were more for the truth and racial healing commissions, that the implementation was typically over several years. And then another one was that many of the initiatives also claimed to offer opportunities for all while remaining steadfast and recognizing that people in communities [00:39:00] have different starting points. As you know, every community different frames of reference, inactively dealing with these very topics so another thing to keep in mind. Then some key components of these commissions were that- or these task forces were that they're inviting community members and public officials to work together. Um, some of the main differences in how they were structured as well, were how they're actually persuading existing government officials and community leaders to offer support rather than identifying officials from a prior regime for prosecution or amnesty, so I just wanted to include that in there for all of us to think about in terms of our goals and how we look at this. Then another thing that I found really striking in there was that the initiatives prioritized immediate changes, um, and really had a leaning on increasing public understanding and a clear path to action. So that [00:40:00] clear paths to action was something that was really striking there um, really just making sure that that wound is not an afterthought, in more of something that you were thinking about in the beginning stages and then coming back to you know throughout the process. Then another thing was er, focusing on creating a shared narrative of the past, promoting healing, creating a record of historical and current inequities. So when we're looking at uh our charges, just wanted to make sure that people didn't think that it really only had to lean specifically on past occurrences. So also glad that, you know, seeing in this actual agenda here that we're actually looking at current occurrences. One of them in here was just stained as December 6th, for example, just last month as an occurrence. And then in order to achieve lasting change, another thing that was said in there was that it was important and imperative, for these initiatives to have the support of government officials, and to have a plan for implementing [00:41:00] the recommendations again. So plans may be concrete or fluid, but again, it's important that they're focused in the beginning stages rather than being an afterthought. It's also crucial for the initiatives to engage diverse communities into address intersectionality. So those are just some quick notes uh that I just gathered there. I just didn't want to make it overly too long. Additionally, this was his first chapter, it wasn't really the whole meat of it. It was more of an intro, and then that part of the executive Summary 2 that I was including in there. Um, the next one, or Chapter 2. So I'll just include notes for that one ahead of our next meeting, but that's more of the planning stage, so planning the initiative. So that's why I just kept pointing out again in there how they talked about the planning being part of the initial stages. Because you can even see in the summary, and how the book is actually structured. It's structured in such a way that it's going through kind of step by step of how you should be looking at the process and planning the initiative being a core [00:42:00] part of all of it. Um, and when you look at the lengths of the actual chapters themselves, the planning, the initiative is, I think tied for being the second longest section- type for being the longest section alongside wait. No, actually, yeah. It-it is the longest section. Yeah, and then the second longest section would be the developing a coalition for change. So again, Jeff, it's completely in the structure there. More of them are remedying past injustice, and sequencing initiatives and coordination with promotion of change hearts and minds with healing, then that last one before the conclusion, so shorter page is about the continuance of the implementation, the assessment, and accountability. So looking at each stage of the process, making sure that kinda- kinda just skimmed a little bit of the other sections, [00:43:00] didn't read those in full. But pointing out the structure again, it just show that the book is really laid out in a way that is trying to walk you through that process to get you as close to the success or following a successful pathway based on all these other groups that were studied as possible. [00:43:22] I like the idea when you were talking about um, not just dealing with you know past items, but looking at the futures matter of being reactive to things in the past, and you said being proactive to stop things from happening in the future. Because I'm sure a lot of us can see- you know we can see but could happen in the future. And if we can stop it from happening, that would be you know the better course. I like that. [00:43:54] I want to add as well, just um, yeah in no way am I saying disagreeing with the stopping aspect, but I want to just [00:44:00] say for the public or anyone that listens to this or sees the notes that I don't believe you can stop everything bad from occurring. But um, having, again, how it names in here just that shared historical perspective and having that historical record will give you that framework to at least be able to deal with it in the best way possible and deal with it again, as a community rather than coming at it from a very fragmented standpoint, everyone kind of doing their own thing, not really understanding what's going on. Some people being invested, others not. And that main pointing in there again about having that backing of public officials or at least some kind of, you know, close narrative or tie with them, you know, to be able to get the word out a little better, or to have those checkpoints while you're working on different solutions. [00:44:58] Well put. [00:45:00] [00:45:04] So I just wanted to follow up. So, um chastity was kind enough to allow me to send her the email and she's going to share her screen. And I apologize for the hiccup, but I am logged in as just the general city account. And so I would have to go out and restart everything to re-log in as myself. So but lesson learned and [LAUGHTER] Next time I will log in as myself and not use the generic log-in [LAUGHTER]. [00:45:28] Thank you. [00:45:36] So were we done with um, Section 8 or [LAUGHTER] part H? [00:45:48] We're done with it? [00:45:51] Yeah-yeah. Um, I didn't put this has to- to have this on here to say we had to have some very long discussion on it by any means just wanted to make sure [00:46:00] er, I just had the notes available for records, and just letting people know about, you know, what I found in that first chapter in that executive summary. Okay. [00:46:11] I just wanted to say something real quick. Er, first thanks um, commissioner Traore for um, pushing us to you know dive into the literature that were being given it's very important and I do um, love the summary that you gave us. So um, I am looking forward to having further discussions as we move forward in our meetings. [00:46:34] Yeah, I think it's absolutely uh crucial for our commission to be doing the homework right? And keeping ourselves accountable, to be in keeping with some of the lessons that other processes have already learned. We can also chart our own path, but it's really helpful to hear how- the models that other commissions are er-er or councils have um, followed in-in similar kind [00:47:00] of goals that we have. So thanks, Mo, for taking us through this and I did appreciate reading through a lot of the sections. Some of them really hurt because I wish [LAUGHTER]- I wish that we had read some of these lessons before, some of- some of the ups and downs that this commission has experienced, but I'm glad that the divided community project is putting this out. And you know it makes me excited that you know as- as members of this commission, perhaps we too can kind of um, you know once our processes further along are done, er, you know we can share some of the lessons learned from our perspective so that other community members can enact similar movements and projects. [00:47:43] It's Commissioner Johnson. I just I- I would like to say, if you don't learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it, incorrect history. So yeah because it's all. [00:47:56] Very true rock. [00:48:00] [00:48:02] Is there anybody in the public that had any comment? [00:48:10] Okay. Then let's go back to number 6. [LAUGHTER]. [00:48:15] All right. So, um, I'll first read what I have drafted and then open it up to discussion and then we can make a motion, um, yes or no to make this recommendation later. Um, but whereas the Iowa City Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission has received a letter with a subject we ongoing racial discrimination toward in- towards indigenous peoples sanctioned by the City of Iowa City and the Iowa City Community School District. The Commission recommends that the City of Iowa City in ICCSD support the requests made by members of our indigenous community in this letter. These requests include but are not limited to funding the provision of more educational resources to teaching staff in ICCSD such as the book Rethinking Columbus, providing annual anti-racism [00:49:00] training to educators and city officials for better understanding of indigenous peoples, and planning and enacting a community celebration for Indigenous Peoples Day. The Commission also recommends that city officials and ICCSD leaders meet with the letter writers for more collaboration on how best to execute these actions so as to include input from indige- from indigenous community members moving forward. Open to thoughts or suggestions. [00:49:25] This is Commissioner Johnson again. I just wanna say- I wanna re-clarify again. I'm at the end of a fast right now. And that was a very slipped up of words and saying anything as little. This is a huge deal and we really- I really appreciate what you are working on and what you've brought, and I agree with- I agree with this absolutely. So I just want to say that again. I was waiting until the announcements because I really want to drive that back. But now that we're back here, I just wanted to say that again. And, yes, this is appreciated. Thank you. [00:49:57] Well, thank you. [00:50:00] [00:50:02] It's like you were in my head. [LAUGHTER]. [00:50:04] It's all right. [00:50:06] Really? No. Like, it's very concise. I think he hit every point that we kinda talked about. And it's a very, you know, supportive way. I was very good and you just did it on the fly. Notes up, baby. [LAUGHTER] [00:50:25] It's really great. Thank you very much. [00:50:33] So, um, the chair and vice-chair. Okay. With that, I'll go ahead and make a motion to send this recommendation to the City. [00:50:42] And to the school district. [00:50:44] Can we send it to the school district? There's no a mechanism for doing that. [00:50:48] Yeah, I believe so. [00:50:50] Okay. [00:50:50] I believe they have- I mean, it would be no different than like sending it to City Council if they don't have like the default [00:51:00] school district where it goes to every member, you would just have to, you know, send it to each of them individually. [00:51:07] So amended motion. Ah, I move to send this recommendation, um, to the City into the Iowa City Community School District. [00:51:20] Is there a second? [00:51:21] Second. [00:51:23] Then properly moved and seconded to send a letter to the Iowa City Council and the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors. All those in favor say aye. [00:51:39] Aye. [00:51:40] Aye. [00:51:40] Aye [00:51:41] Aye. [00:51:41] Anyone opposed? Anyone abstaining? Motion passes 8-0. Thank you. [00:51:50] Is this like- is this something we can bring to the meeting next Tuesday? When will the callous and I know. [00:51:59] Will they have [00:52:00] the letter that we're referencing by that point? [00:52:06] Are- were you planning to send it prior, Sikowis, or bring it? [00:52:10] Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you're talking about this here. Ah, you know, I hadn't even thought about that. We're just going to show up and read it, but we probably should if you want it on the agenda, right? [00:52:21] Yeah. [00:52:21] I didn't- I don't think that way my mind isn't working that colonial styles. [LAUGHTER]. [00:52:26] And- and I don't know how their agendas are, so they may not just even have a line item for correspondence. So even if it's sent to them before the meeting, that doesn't mean it would be on their agenda or that they would, you know, discuss it just so- [00:52:42] It might be too late to add it to, right? Because we don't- we have to get things in like way ahead of time. Like, I didn't even know what the timeline is first. [00:52:49] You know, I don't- I don't know the structure of the school board in terms of public getting things on their agenda. [00:52:56] Yeah. [00:52:56] Um, I mean, for City Council, really, the public doesn't, you [00:53:00] know, you can talk at items not on the agenda, but the public really doesn't have the authority to compel the city to- to play. So for the city council to play something on their agenda, but I'm not familiar with the school district so- [00:53:14] I'd suggest if you can- could mail it beforehand and then- I mean, I'm- I'm gonna try to get in- with you guys on the shelf, the meeting, but yeah. So the least that someone will know about it before, um, the school board meeting, but that can't be great. And then we can follow up right afterwards. [00:53:33] Just Muhammad again, I do know in terms of the public comment, they provide sheets at the beginning of other meetings, like sheets of paper, or you can write down your name, what you want to dress them about or talk about anything. Then I put it in a box and then I just call each person individually to just, uh, I can't remember the exact length of time. Last time I was there, it was a little over a year ago. But it's like three minutes. [00:53:56] It's like three minutes. They give you three minutes to talk, I think. I was there with you, I think. [00:54:00] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This was for the school board, at least, uh, so everyone does get a chance to speak on, you know, whatever you need to dress them on. [00:54:12] Well, just so we're not limited to three minutes. Yes, we'll get it to them ahead of time. And then if we have to wait till the 24th, then we'll wait for 24th. So is this being sent to you? Are you guys going to send this- you're going to send this to them, right? Or we. That's correct. I'm saying you because I kind of abstaining from it. [LAUGHTER] [00:54:34] Yeah. You split personality, yeah. [00:54:36] Now, the- like the- the commission has made this, uh, motion and pass their recommendation, I know typically staff will send it to City Council. Does one of us needs to send it to the School Board? [00:54:48] Well, okay. So this is the- for- in terms of the City Council seeing this- doing the routine procedure, this after I do the, [00:55:00] um, draft minutes, it would put their recommendation. I put yes, and then I put the recommendation there. But technically, council wouldn't see that until there was draft minutes, and those draft minutes are placed in their information packet. Yeah. [00:55:13] So, you know, I can shoot for- for next Tuesday to- to have it in their information packet. But in terms of the kind of traditional way that, that is how and when they would receive notice that way. And then even they may not even see that there is a recommendation because when- once you approve your minutes at your next meeting, that's when then I send to the city clerk the approved minutes. And when I do that, there's, um, a template that's placed on top that's very noticeable. So then the city council sees there has been this recommendation made to us. Does that make sense? [00:55:53] It does. [00:55:53] Okay. I was like I'm deaf. I feel like I'm [OVERLAPPING]. [00:56:00] I wonder if I'm either a Chair, Vice Chair would be willing to, um, just email then this text to, um, all the members of city council and the school board? [00:56:12] I can- I could do it. That'd be fine. [00:56:14] Thank you. Okay. [00:56:22] So we're- we're going to send our letter. Well, we're going to send the letter that scale was put together. And then can we just send them together or- [00:56:36] Yeah, I think that if you include the original letter attached in the same like or- or in the same attachment or is it separate attachment in the same e-mail that. [00:56:44] So I- I can do that if- I can send the letter and send the recommendations from TRC. [00:56:51] Okay. [00:56:51] Okay. [00:56:52] Sounds good. Either Chastity or stuff, can you forward this then to Commissioner Krebs? [00:56:59] And I [00:57:00] just did want to note that on this, it has Jason Glass as chair of the Commission and his, um, term ended, um, in December. And so currently the- they have to vote for their next chair at their January meeting. So you- you could just probably address it to the Iowa City Human Rights Commission because if you did- yeah. Because Jason is not a member anymore, so- [00:57:23] Okay. [00:57:23] So I think they're meeting isn't until the third week of the month or something like that. [00:57:29] The fourth? January 4th. Yeah. [00:57:31] Okay. [00:57:42] We're on to item number 9. Is that correct? Okay. Um, talk procedure- procedures, and protocols for the meetings. Um, one thing that, um, Chastity and I have kinda been discussing [00:58:00] and- and looking forward towards our meetings is trying to be, you know, consistent, concise, and also make it so that everybody knows how the meeting's going to be run with the people that are coming in as well as the members. It's gonna be probably an ongoing thing [LAUGHTER] until we can get something together. Um, one of the things that I wanted to talk about was that, um, agenda items when we can have them in so that they get to- get to Stefanie in plenty of time. Um, and I think- let's see cause right now we've been scrambling like literally like the day that they should be notified. [LAUGHTER] So what we're gonna propose is maybe like the Thursday, it's like next Thursday, anything [00:59:00] that we want to be on the agenda for the next meeting, you know, to get it to, you know, Chastity and myself, the chair and vice-chair, um, which we will pass it on to Stefanie. And also at the same time, if we can know that who's going to be present at the meeting and who's not, so we can know ahead of time also if there's gonna be a quorum. Um, and that way, probably by end of day Friday, first thing, Monday, Stefanie will have it and we can be able to get it posted in a timely manner. [00:59:39] We get like an email reminder on that, on those like Thursday befores as a reminder of like, um, to ask us for are you going to be at the meeting and you have any agenda items just so I mean? [00:59:51] Yeah. Yes. I'd actually- if, um, we get a preferred mode of communication. So if e-mail is your preference, yes, [01:00:00] we can send an e-mail or if there's texts, whichever. That means we know everybody's heard us and get things back. So that would be- that would be great. Um- [01:00:10] When we have a mechanism for like late add-ons just in case, you know, some big event in the community happened, the, um, Saturday after that email on gelatin, we wanna do address it. [01:00:24] Yes. I think that'd be the case. Probably call, make sure [LAUGHTER] um, instead of doing like an electronic format, if you could call one of us, so we know ahead of time then we can get, um, it does happen anytime, that- I think it'll be fine. [01:00:38] Okay. [01:00:39] Also, I just wanted to preface in it. I'd love Stefanie to talk about this. Um, she's talked to me several times. It's really, um, important to let the- the public know with more as much time in advance of what our agenda is. So that's another reasoning for trying to- to get us all [01:01:00] ah, on the same page a little bit sooner. Uh, just- because right now we're kinda giving sometimes 40 hours, 24 hours notice. And correct me if I'm wrong in what I'm saying Stef. [01:01:16] No. I mean, under Iowa law, the agenda has to be posted 24 hours prior to the meeting, but that's- that's the deadline, right? That's not the goal. And so I- I think as a public board, um, the sooner that the community can get that information, they have more time to- to read it. Um, if there's something in it that they want to discuss, it gives them more time to plan to either Zoom in or come in person to the meeting. And I think even just for each of you as board members, it gives you an opportunity to be fully prepared for the meetings. If you're getting it 24 h before, you- you might be able to glance [01:02:00] at it depending on what your next day looks like. So it's just- it would be, I think just beneficial all around. [01:02:08] And also, of course, if there's any um, last minute, things can't happen, people who are sick, things- we're going to be as flexible as possible. This is just to make it um, a little bit easier for everyone.Do we have any other thoughts on this? [01:02:32] I think that's it. This is Commissioner Krebs. [01:02:34] I think the point about the public being notified of our agenda is an excellent point, we do want them involved and be able to speak if they have questions or concerns or input. Um, so I think that's fair having some,um, you know, some organization and consistency. [01:02:53] And if they're supposed to be materials that need to be included in the packet rather than- [01:03:00] early posted, rather than waiting like the meeting date would be good too, so yeah. [01:03:06] This is Commissioner Johnson. The only other thing I have is how do we make sure that the public knows what's going on and how are we going about really making sure that they are kind of tuning into us a little bit more because I feel like that'll be really helpful if we can kinda make sure it's always around. Some people have access to it, they know where it is and then more likely we might have more people that'll be attendees from, uh, public and everything. Do we have any thoughts or ideas on how we're gonna do that? [01:03:37] And a lot of things are gonna be word of mouth. I mean-. [01:03:41] No. I felt like word of mouth [OVERLAPPING]. [01:03:43] No. [01:03:43] Is kind of really hard because, I mean, if we could- I mean, I don't know. I'm kind of just shooting off the cuff here, but uh, [NOISE] there was a billboard or anything like that somewhere to just has that information sitting there. So if people, [01:04:00] you know, just-. [01:04:02] Are you- sorry. [01:04:04] No, no, no, no. [01:04:05] Are you talking about like our, ah, our meetings, or are you talking about like our future activities once we have facilitators? [01:04:10] About both really, our meetings in general. So people have access to it and if you're curious, you can always look and check things out and then if you have truth, you can give truth like I'm gonna tell you right now, a lot of people might not know about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, honestly, there's a lot of people were just very in tune with everything else going on because the people that I've talked to, they like, oh, well, that's nice. So you guys got that and now I'm like, wow, there's been a lot going on [LAUGHTER] this entire time, but I've heard from so many people that they didn't even know. They're just not keeping in tune with it. So however, we can make sure that it's understood what we're doing. I feel like that looks better for the city as well. It just shows that we are making an honest effort to make sure that we are bringing the communi- community and getting them more involved. I mean- [01:05:00] Well, that's, I guess, some things we wanted to hopefully we can put together and these, like, procedures and protocols, I think maybe social media, you know, Facebook page or whatever kind of, um, mode of communication to- to get the word out. [OVERLAPPING] [01:05:14] Sounds good. [inaudible 01:05:14]. I appreciate it. [01:05:19] This is Commissioner Dillard. Yeah, I definitely, ah, hear your frustration, Commissioner, um, Cliff. I- I know we've had these conversations multiple times about how can we get the word out? Because as we all know, ah, people don't really know as much as we'd like them to know about us. I think, ah, we also probably know that we're really, um, we can't do anything without any money. We don't have access to money right now. So a billboard would be great. We don't have money for that right now. But I- I know we can make those plans. I still- I know we've talked many- on many occasions, and I don't want to get too far off of this agenda item, but [01:06:00] If anyone wants to work on more ways of visibility, let's get together outside of the commission so we can build that plan, so we can do stuff on our own before the proposal, um, team is solidified and we can do stuff now and then when they're finally certified, we can do this stuff that's going to cost money. That's my thought on it. There are definitely things ideas I have. I know other commissioners have had some ideas that I think would be worth working on that we- I mean, we can talk about, but we'd have to do things outside- out of the meeting. So that's what I'm thinking. [01:06:38] That's good to go. I actually been just sitting here thinking I have a couple of ideas and thoughts myself, so I think that'd be great. [01:06:44] Okay. I'll leave it to you. [OVERLAPPING] Yeah, go ahead. [01:06:48] I was just asking Stefanie if, um, the office of equity and human rights has like a regular newsletter that they send out to the public. [01:06:55] Yeah, we do. We also have an Instagram page, so- [01:06:59] We get a small box [01:07:00] saying that the [LAUGHTER] you meet every Thursda- every other- [01:07:04] Definitely. And early on in this endeavor, I had actually tried to solicit board members to like send me a bio and a picture. [01:07:12] Okay. [01:07:12] So that people, you know, can associate a name with the face and what you're doing. And so I mean, that offer is- is certainly still there. So if anybody wants to be featured, um, please just reach out to me and we'll set up a time for um, communications to take a professional shot. You know, can get me the things that you would like to highlight and we just kinda go from there. [01:07:38] [FOREIGN]. [01:07:39] That's a great idea. Sorry. [01:07:41] I'm sorry. [01:07:41] How often does that go out? [01:07:44] Well, so usually once a month. But we're, you know, an office of two and there was a wire live by myself for three months and then it was bi-monthly because I just couldn't do it every month. [01:07:58] I would love for us to [01:08:00] do something like that. I think it'd be great for every commissioner to be featured, um, for that and other areas as well. [01:08:10] This is Commissioner Johnson. You got me excited, so I'm gonna choose say [LAUGHTER]. The thought I had was it would definitely cost the city something. But I feel like it's a part of growing as a city in becoming a better city. There's any type of way we can have certain areas that have digital informational billboards that we can always have something that just pops up for everybody to see and make it as easy access as possible throughout the city, I noticed that something that's down the line and it would take some discussion and it'll take a lot of money and so on and so forth. But to get the ball rolling on that for future, ah, I think it's a great idea. And especially in every single one of our committees, every single one of our groups, I mean in human rights, truth and reconciliation, et cetera, everybody. Just the informational board here for Iowa City, that's all. [01:09:00] So something along those lines would be great. I didn't want to forget, so I wanted to make sure I at least say it out. [LAUGHTER] [01:09:13] And- and I just want to add if there is content that you as a group think would be nice to post on Instagram, you know, you- you can certainly reach out and let me know that. The- the- the hiccup to my existence and Instagram is at communications ultimately has, you know, the approval of what can get posted and what- and what can't or what they, you know, don't want to be posted. But I- I can say I haven't had much experience where that's been a problem. But I just want to throw that out there that it's not necessarily what Stefanie says, it's what a different department says, so. [01:09:50] Okay. Um, I think it's all I wanted to say about the [01:10:00] procedures and protocols. It's going to be an ongoing thing, so this spicy on the agenda of the next, however many meetings and so getting input and that, kind of, thing. Any other comment? [01:10:15] Um, maybe just to follow up on, kind of, the offer that stuff he is providing us, how would the commission feel if I, um, started to coordinate among the nine members, maybe we could do like a three-part series of like meet the commission- meet the TRC and like three of us could come together in conversation for a photo. You could have a short interview and that could go out, um, you know, in each monthly newsletter for the next three months, um, I'm not sure how quickly we can organize some of these like interviews or meetings, but would that be something that everyone is interested in or? [01:10:45] I think that sounds great idea. [01:10:46] Hold it above. Yeah, there you go. [01:10:48] Um, then I will figure out the best way to assess availability and wrinkled people together and then coordinating with stuff about them, something like this. [01:11:00] [01:11:06] Thank you, Kevin. That's great. [01:11:13] Actually, um, I got a thinking ahead like for our next meeting, would we want to maybe do it as like a work session, kind of, do more brainstorming about. I mean, like getting the word out the social media and all that instead of, um, don't know. [01:11:32] Something that's specifically geared towards that, right? [01:11:34] Yeah. [01:11:37] I- I- I hear the urgency. I think that the, I mean, we're already doing a pretty good job of making these meetings public. You guys are doing a good job, um, encouraging us to get agenda items quicker. We are waiting on a budget. Um, and so like most of the stuff that we can do in terms of communication has to go through the office anyway. And so I think that this is a pretty good start, but that's just my opinion. I'm not sure [01:12:00] how much more we can do before we have proper facilitation. Just my opinion on things. [01:12:06] I- I would echo, uh, what Commissioner- Commissioner Rivera just said. I think that if, um, people have ideas, um, we should come together, obviously not in quorum and- and put those ideas together. I think doing a- a job- a work session is going to make it a little bit harder. Um, it's going to be a little bit harder to do a social media plan like that versus just having like a couple of people come together and present a plan. They say that from just working, like my job is to- to work in social media and all that. So it's my thoughts. [01:12:58] If there's no more comment [01:13:00] on Item 9, we can go on to announcements. [01:13:08] Hi, it's Commissioner Johnson. I just want to say Happy New Year everybody and I hope everybody had a happy holidays and, uh, appreciate you all in the heart work you guys have been putting in and- and new year, let's keep rock and that's all. That's all I have for right now. Thank you. [01:13:29] I'll just say that, um, you know, the city, the university are planning some different, um, MLK related events. And so I hope, um, we all pay attention to what is being offered to us and take part in whatever capacity that we can. Um, if you're lucky enough to get the day off, um, congratulations, if you're still working hard that day. Thank you for, ah, the work that you do. [01:13:58] This is Commissioner Dillard. I [01:14:00] also wanted to say Happy New Year, um, and just also say I'm so grateful for this commission, everyone on this team. I also want to, um, put it out there, um Commissioner Gathua, she unfortunately lost your sister last month. So I would love for us to just, um, put out thoughts and prayers for her and she did return today and has a cold. So just putting that out for her, um, that we're just thinking about her. [01:14:30] Absolutely. [01:14:37] Hello. Um, I just wanted to, uh, this is Commissioner Sikowis Nobiss. I just wanted to, um, make an announcement about, uh, the false climate solution, uh, CO_2 pipelines which are slated to run rampant throughout this entire state. Um, they won't necessarily going straight through Johnson County, but very close, [01:15:00] um, up near Cedar Rapids. Um, that's the wolf pipeline that will be in our area. And there will be, um, more, uh, educational events happening very soon. On behalf of Great Plains Action Society and other organizations working to stop these, uh, pipelines throughout the state. Um, and a lot of larger events happening, um, at the capitol and Des Moines, uh, and if you know folks in Cedar Rapids, please connect with them and see if they make sure they know about it. Everybody can go to carboncapturefacts.org to find out so much more important information about these very- very dangerous, uh, pipelines that frankly, really do affect, um, people of color. Um, uh, and right now, in terms of who is being communicated with about these coming through, uh, you know, neighborhoods, it's only, ah, white land owners at the moment. Um, [01:16:00] and so, uh, great Plains has been doing the best we can to educate and get in contact with communities, uh, of color like in Fort Dodge and Sioux City and other places so that we can make sure that just because you'd- you're not a white landowner, it doesn't mean that your voice doesn't count and that, you know, these dangerous pipelines that can literally kill you because they will fixate you if they leak. Um, ah, you know, you shouldn't be heard, right? um, I'd also encourage everybody to look up Satartia, Mississippi CO_2 pipeline explosion and see what happened to a black community there, um, and, you know, how they almost died. And, um, I really want to, uh, start spreading the word and about these two people, uh, in Johnson County. [01:16:56] Commissioner Krebs, I just like to backup with scholars said please do [01:17:00] look into what happened in Satartia, Mississippi. That was pretty bad. That's- that's an example of what will happen if we have a leak. [01:17:20] Any other announcements? [01:17:28] I was just going to say real quick that, um, I- I passed out some notebooks. In the goal of the notebooks is they, um, you can organize it how you want, but the information that is included in it so far, um, are meeting minutes for the last six months. And so as you're approving minutes, you might want to, you know, keep the- the most recent ones in there just so that you can, kind of, refresh from where you left off at the last [01:18:00] meeting. It also has the, um, a copy of the Iowa open meetings and records law. So if there's ever a- a question you can reference that that's in there, then most importantly, it has a copy of the resolution. So we talk about the resolution a lot, but very, uh, few times have we had it in front of us. And so, you- you know, if this is something hopefully that I tried to get the smallest binder I could find, but, you know, you can come back and forth to meetings and that way everybody has the same information in front of them. And I just think being able to reference the resolution when you're, you know, discussing things may- may help, um, in assisting in this journey. [01:18:44] It's Commissioner Johnson. I'm just, uh, I know I'm breaking protocol again right now. I would apologize, but I'm going to say thank you. I- I wish I would have thought it had when it was time for my announcement, but I would like to say for all of us, I guess, right now because I know we're not supposed to be saying anything, but thank you. [01:19:00] [01:19:05] Is there a motion to adjourn? [01:19:08] So moved. [01:19:11] Second. [01:19:15] Goodbye. [01:19:16] Bye, everyone.