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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTRC Transcript - October 20, 2022[00:00:00] [00:00:07] [MUSIC] Okay. So you're calling the meeting to order at 07:03. Uh, Commissioner Dillard? [00:00:13] Uh, present. [00:00:14] Commissioner Gathua? [00:00:15] Present. [00:00:16] Commissioner Harris? Commissioner Johnson. [00:00:20] Here. [00:00:21] Commissioner Krebs? [00:00:22] Here. [00:00:23] Commissioner Merritt? [00:00:24] Present. [00:00:26] Commissioner Nobiss? Uh, Commissioner Rivera. [00:00:30] Here. [00:00:31] And Commissioner Traore? [00:00:33] Here. [00:00:34] Thank you. [00:00:36] Awesome. So we'll get started with the reading of the Native American Land Acknowledgment, and I'll just go ahead and read that. It says, "We meet today in the community of Iowa City, which now occupies the homelands of Native American nations to whom we owe our commitment and dedication. The area of Iowa City was within the homelands of the Iowa, Meskwaki, and Sac. And because history is complex and time goes far back beyond memory, [00:01:00] we also acknowledge 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." Um, we'll move next to the approval of the meeting minutes from October 6, uh, but first, I believe I will open up to public comments. First, online. Is there anyone online that would like to make comments? Anyone in the audience? Okay. Stefanie, can we get a roll call? [00:01:44] Um, I think I have to make a motion to approve- [00:01:47] Oh, yes. [00:01:47] -and we'll need- need a seconder. [00:01:48] Is there a motion? [00:01:51] I'll motion. [00:01:52] I second. [00:01:53] Thank you. [00:01:53] Who was the second? I'm sorry. [00:01:56] Lauren. [00:01:56] Lauren. Okay. Thank you. Okay. It's been properly [00:02:00] moved and seconded to approve the meeting minutes from October 6, 2022. Uh, Commissioner Dillard? [00:02:06] Yes. [00:02:08] Commissioner Gathua? [00:02:09] Yes. [00:02:10] Commissioner Johnson? [00:02:11] Yes. [00:02:12] Commissioner Krebs? [00:02:13] Yes. [00:02:14] Merritt? [00:02:16] Yes. [00:02:18] Commissioner Rivera? [00:02:19] Yes. [00:02:19] And Commissioner Traore? [00:02:22] Yes. [00:02:22] Okay. Motion passed at 7, 0. [00:02:25] Thank you, Stefanie. We'll move on to, uh, Item Number 5, public comment of items not on the Agenda. Is there anyone on online that would like to comment in the public? I will move to people in the room with us right now. Okay. With that, we'll move on to, um, Item Number 6. Um, so first we'll move to public discussion or public comment on vote on Chair and Vice Chair for TRC. [00:03:00] Is there anyone online that would like to make any comment on this item- Agenda item? Okay. Is there anyone in the public that would like to do the same? Okay. Then I will open it up for discussion amongst us commissioners. [00:03:24] This is, uh, Commissioner Merritt. Um, after, you know, thinking about, uh, where we are with two new members and we have the proposal that we need to move towards the City Council, um, I think that if the current Vice Chair who's acting Chair, um, would be okay with continuing this without actually official voting on a new Vice Chair and new Chair until after, um, [00:04:00] proposal has been approved by the city and ready to go to the next phase. And I would be willing to help- um, help facilitate things in the interim so that it's not all on your [LAUGHTER] on your shoulders. But, um, I, I personally feel this for myself being new still not in a comfortable position to vote for, you know, between leaders of the group. But, um, I think that it sounds like people have enough confidence in your abilities and people here in the Commission, and I think that we can just keep going as things are until we get to the point of the proposal getting approved by the city. [00:04:44] Anyone else have any thoughts? [00:04:47] The question for you is do you feel like, um, you need any sort of formal Vice Chair- person helping you out in kind of leadership at this point? Um, like, do you feel a strong desire [00:05:00] for someone to fill these roles at this point? [00:05:03] Um, I- I'm- I'm happy to do what's best for the Commission. I think it would be easier to have, um, both a Chair and a Vice Chair just so moving forward. But if, uh, the Commission feels that they would- we would rather collectively wait until after the proposal is, um, you know, submitted, I can wait and adjust until then. Um, I would probably ask if anything comes up, might reach out to different people for help if that is, well, how we move forward. So, um, kind of a non-answer [LAUGHTER] in-between answer. Um, I guess to be fair, my preference would be to have it defined. I don't need to be the Chair, but if I'm going to be acting in this role, it'd be nice to have a second person. So that's my thought. Anyone else have any thoughts on this? Um, need to know if we're going to vote on this, or we table it, and so that- that would probably need [00:06:00] to be a motion either way. [00:06:03] One question I have for you is would you, you know, at least for a temporary while, like next couple of months. It had been floated, you know, last meeting that maybe we, um, [NOISE] have these positions and reevaluate after a couple of months anyway. Is would you be willing to step into a Vice Chair position and to- like formally to help Chastity? [00:06:21] Yes, I would. [00:06:21] Okay. [00:06:22] So I think if you're gonna- because, technically, Chastity is still Vice Chair- [00:06:27] Right. And so we'd have to do separate votes for the Chair position and Vice Chair position. [00:06:31] Perfect. Thank you. [00:06:31] Yes. Thank you. So I'm not putting the motion forward, but here's where my thought is is that we do go ahead with the vote, um, for a Chair and separately a Vice Chair. Um, [NOISE] and, uh, and maybe we can put the stipulation that, you know, this will be, um, through the end of the calendar year and we'll reevaluate in the New Year. [00:06:55] Quick question. Uh, just wondering, uh, Commissioner Johnson. Uh, I was just wondering if [00:07:00] you could, uh, further explain why, uh, you would like to wait. That's all. [00:07:08] I think that this Commissioner, um, there's been a lot of change [LAUGHTER] that's happened in this short amount of time, and I think having some stability through the next couple of months especially gonna be kinda crucial, especially with, um, communication with the City Council. Um, having someone who's already acting as either, you know, Chair, Vice Chair, you know, um, I think it would be good, rather than potentially changing it to somebody else, um, just for continuity. And then it's gonna be a short amount of time. January's gonna be here before we know it, and I think, um, that would be, you know, good. And is one thing we talked about last meeting is that kind of doing rotation, yeah. So I think come January, that would be a good time for a proper rotation and, [00:08:00] um, that was- that's kinda my thoughts. [00:08:03] Mm-hmm. [00:08:13] This is Commissioner Gathua. Ah, because, ah, I've been part of the changes that were there, the, ah, Commissioner Lauren, this more for me it's more for you, because you've expressed that you need a bit of time. But for me, I would have gone on with the Agenda as it is set, yeah. Yeah. Because as the changes were happening from August too, we were also talking and discussing about it. Yeah. [00:09:00] [00:09:04] I just wanna formally thank, um, Commissioner Dillard for all of the work that she's put in as Acting Chair this far and, um, has- has certainly been I think, um, a great leader for, uh, this Commission over the last couple of months. And I have a lot of confidence that, um, she's the right choice for, uh, the Chair at this time, and especially as we move into this next, uh, transition where hopefully we can start making moves on, um, a lot of the things that we've set ourselves out for. So, um, I'd like to make a motion to, um, [NOISE] vote on Chastity to be the Chair until we reconvene about this issue. [00:09:41] I'm going to second that. [00:09:43] Yeah, I agree with that as well. [00:09:44] Yeah, yeah. [00:09:46] Any other discussion before we make a vote? Online? All right, Stefanie. [00:09:55] And just to clarify, is this through December or is this indefinitely? [00:09:58] If- I- [00:10:00] I didn't specify for a date, um, and I trust that our leaders will allow this to be on the Agenda in January.] [00:10:07] [LAUGHTER] Uh, [00:10:08] so I don't think that we need- [OVERLAPPING] [00:10:08] Okay. I just wanted to clarify that. [00:10:10] Thank You. [00:10:10] Okay. Um, Commissioner Dillard? [00:10:12] Is this is something that I should vote on? [00:10:14] Yeah. [00:10:15] You can vote for yourself. [LAUGHTER] [00:10:18] Yes. [00:10:19] Commissioner Gathua? [00:10:20] Yes. [00:10:21] Commissioner Johnson? [00:10:22] Yes. [00:10:23] Commissioner Krebs? [00:10:24] Yes. [00:10:24] Commissioner Merritt? [00:10:25] Yes. [00:10:26] Commissioner Rivera? [00:10:27] Yes. [00:10:28] And commissioner Traore? [00:10:30] Yes. [00:10:30] Okay. Motion passes 7-0. Congratulations, to your city. [00:10:35] Um, I just want to say thank you all for your photo confidence. And I continually want to make sure this is collaborative because we've worked really hard and very excited for the two new people joining us to just move forward. So looking forward to that. [00:10:49] And I want to add that you have been calling on us and I want to continue if you need whatever you [00:11:00] need, please call on us. We also know we even call each other at AMs if necessary. So yeah. [00:11:10] It's Commissioner Johnson. I feel like you've shown great leadership and I'm confident in what you do and I appreciate you and anything you need, just let me know. [00:11:21] Thank you all. Alright, so the next, uh, thing is, are we voting on a Vice Chair? [LAUGHTER] Or is anyone going to bring that up or do we want to table it? [00:11:29] I mean, I- I certainly can put forward the motion, but, um, in- in the few interactions that I've had with Commissioner Merritt, you know, sends a lot of curiosity, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy, and a lot of willingness to help. And I think that's everything that, um, I would hope that you would have as a vice chair at this point. Um, and I apologize for not responding to the e-mail correspondence that you had sent me last week. [00:11:50] I forgive you. [00:11:51] [LAUGHTER] Thank you. Look at the reconciliation process happening right before our eyes. [LAUGHTER] And so, um, no, I- I just [00:12:00] really appreciate your willingness to sort of follow up on things. And, um again, kind of stepping in and kind of giving your thoughts pretty frankly, but, um, in a way that's, um, open to discussion and consideration. And so, um, I would be happy to, um, make a motion formally, ah, for Commissioner Merritt to serve as Vice Chair. [00:12:19] I will second that. [00:12:22] Any other discussion? [00:12:23] And I'm basing that on my interaction for the last two weeks with Commissioner Merritt and I think we had some emails go back and-. [00:12:34] She responded to my emails. [LAUGHTER]. [00:12:37] Okay. Um, Commissioner Dillard? [00:12:41] Yes. [00:12:42] Commissioner Gathua? [00:12:43] Yes. [00:12:44] Commissioner Johnson? [00:12:45] Yes. [00:12:46] Commissioner Krebs? [00:12:47] Yes. [00:12:47] Commissioner Merritt? [00:12:49] Yes. [00:12:49] Commissioner Rivera? [00:12:50] Yes. [00:12:51] And commissioner Traore? [00:12:54] Yes. [00:12:54] Okay. Motion passes 7-0. Congratulations. [00:12:57] Congrats. Okay. If there's nothing else [00:13:00] on this, we'll move on to item- agenda item Number 7. Draft proposal for facilitators services will first open up public comment online. If anyone has anything they'd like to say, please raise your hand now, and while we're waiting, is- there's anyone in the room right now that would like to say anything? Okay. Well, we'll move on for discussion. Um, since we do have two new commissioners that, ah, might have some questions that you want to ask, I guess I'll leave it up to you. Do you all want to hear from, ah, two people in the- [LAUGHTER] in the the room first or did you want to ask your questions? [00:13:43] I- I first ask Commissioner Lauren or Merritt, whatever. [LAUGHTER] I first would like to hear from them, um, I'd send an email. So they kinda already have an idea of some of my concerns. Anyway, so I would like to hear from them first before any more questions. [00:13:59] I second that. [00:14:00] [00:14:02] Welcome. Thank you. [00:14:03] Yeah. [00:14:03] Thank you. V fixed my rise as to planning and part of the local team, ah, also joined by Andy Tucker. With well, did you wanna introduce yourself? [00:14:14] Oh, I will. [00:14:15] You will. Okay. And Andrew Jordan couldn't come here tonight, but well, report back at our team. So and, um, we did communicate with some of our partners from out-of-state Think Peace, um, and, uh Carson West. And so we will just kinda follow up with them. Uh, they're just some extenuating circumstances, but, um, if need be, I can make a phone call. So, ah, if it comes- comes to pass, I- I can do that. And so essentially, the proposal has not changed, ah, since we last spoke. But I really appreciate the email from Commissioner Mayor asking, you know, just some of those questions about like, you know, um, wanting to understand a little bit more about the scope and why [00:15:00] it's a little bit sort of loose end. My response to that was really, um, you know, we've not done this before. And so I think we want to be as authentic and responsive as possible. So there are certain aspects that we know that we have to do. Here there's some education that happen and there's, you know, some truth telling that has to happen and, ah, reconciliation that is going to be continually happening. Um, and so the way that the proposal is put together is we have our project partners who have expertise in that. And Think Peace and Carson West have both been doing this. They're around the world and in the United States. And so, um, the education component something has already happened to, um, in the last, I don't know, 18 months or so. You know, both, ah, Dave Franklin and Eduardo came and have spoken with commissioners and gave him kind a little bit of a taste of what that looks like and it was really enriching. And so I think that really it's [00:16:00] gonna be kicking off with that education component and trying to understand and wrap our arms around. And when I say our, I really do mean that like we are here as your local partners, um, to be- do this alongside you, um, and making sure that you are informed and that you are also making decisions of your own volition and, um, that you're involved in every step of the process that you want to be involved in. Um, myself and Andrew Jordan are both trained strategic doing partners. And so there is a component of that. And that really is meant to, once we have some of that educational component, to start doing some of that work in the community, um, in a way that is very asset oriented and talks about are- and speaks to what everybody here brings and how can we capitalize on that to really engage in our community. You see two of us before and, you know, before you now. But really our community is so incredibly rich in partners. And [00:17:00] so I know that there are folks just waiting in the wings to really engage in this. And I- so I don't want to misrepresent our role. Our role is not to be all end all of local folks that are here to assist and be involved. Um, but we are here to help facilitate the, um, kind joining of that, the convening of that as well. Um, so, you know, kind of moving through education, there is gonna be the data collection aspect that Carson West is gonna be doing, the fact-finding. And we have actually allocated another position that will be local person actually doing that because we have a wealth of individuals in our community and a wealth of data that's already here. So, um, Carson West will kind of help assure that along. And they do have a lot of expertise doing that. And- and we need that data, right? I mean, we need to have some of the information from the police, from the hospitals, from the university, from the city. So there's information to be gathered for sure. Um, and then the truth-telling and I know that you were concerned about retraumatization and- and [00:18:00] harm. And I think, you know, from our perspective that is deeply, um, something that we want to put out at the forefront and say, you know how are we going to manage, reduce as much harm as possible? And so, um, Think Peace and Carson West but primarily Think Peace is gonna be the ones handling that. And the way that they've talked about that is, um, you know, making sure that we're listening to folks, um, but we're not putting anybody on the spot. You know that there's actually some, um, like coaching or, you know, investigation and- and- and one-on-one or small group activities to, ah, make sure that people feel as comfortable as they possibly can. Feel like there's a safer space with which to do that. Um, and so there's a lot of intention that goes into the truth-telling aspect of it because there are community, you know, like truth-telling. I mean, that's- that's gonna be incredibly public. Um, and so, [00:19:00] ah, and then I think what we are really looking forward to is having a phased approach that pro- provides an opportunity for an assessment. So that's another reason why you kind see it a little bit looser than you probably were used to seeing proposals. But we have an opportunity to reflect. Um, and that kind of comes after a certain number of months. And we say, hey, where are we at? What have we done? What have we found out? How do we feel about moving forward and what does that look like? Um, I think that's incredibly important because it sustains the movement, but it also really builds that trust that we're not really just ignoring somebody or leaving something behind because we don't have time. Um, you know we're talking about 400 years of, you know, oppression and racism in this country. We can't solve that overnight. We can't begin to even in the next hundred years. So, you know, I mean, we- we can begin to, but the realization of it really, you know, um, we just need to start lifting [00:20:00] our foot to take that step. So that's the part that is really, um yeah, something that we bring to the table is that reflection part. As the local partners too we are really wanting to bring forth in conjunction with our native partners these healing circles. And so you'll see that as part of, you know, our scope and making sure that we are not appropriating any native practices. Uh, we wanted to, ah, really foreground this work, ah, with our native partners and we've already experienced some of that. We actually had, ah, an op-ed come out from Sioux City and we had circles here in Iowa- Iowa City. And it was [NOISE] credible and powerful. And the reconciliation, the healing parts of that is what we want to co-create and continue to provide in our community. Um, there's also opportunity to gather all of the information, kind of like halfway, and also do a presentation to the City Council. [00:21:00] We want to make sure that we're communicating up, you know, what's happening, that they're not just kinda like hearing what's going on or watching what's happening. But the- there is a collection of information that then gets channeled up to just make sure we have this communication channels open. Uh, and then in the end, really those recommendations moving forward, and that is going to be co-created obviously with you all. Having gone through the process and at every step of the way, you know, it's really, are we reflecting, are we, you know, working on this together? You know, what have we found? All of the things? So, um, that's a real overview. I hope that I answered some of your questions to the best of my ability. Um, but that is really what we're trying to do is grip foreground, a very local, authentic, ah, process moving at the speed of trust as much as possible. And I'll turn it over to Andy in case I missed anything. Or you wanted to add some things? [00:21:58] Sure? [inaudible 00:21:59] [00:22:00] [00:22:02] Yeah, sure. [00:22:03] Um, I guess I just wanted to um- to emphasize a couple of things. One, the education piece is about you all getting educated together about what the process is. So the value of think peace and Kearns and West, as Vee said um, is that they've done this. They've worked with people in different communities around the world and in this country, and have experience with what kind of choices you have for process, what kind of choices you have for different parts about it. And they threw think piece, you will have access to folks and other communities who've done this. So part of it is that you are getting that education together at the same time and communicate- and talking together and figuring out what you want. And as I see it, the partners, the local partners, the native partners, [00:23:00] the further away partners, we're like your support team. We are here for you, we'll- we can do what you want, but we want to be sure that you get the information you need to work together to shape what you want to have happen. And know why and know how you're proceeding because you've gotten the information you need. So just like to really that's- I think that's really important. And also about local partners. The- the two new memb- the two new commissioners may not know that the existing commissioners have done a lot of outreach to individuals and organizations. So have a sense of at least from the original outreach, what interests there was in participating or being engaged in this process. So that's something you guys can talk further about. Um, yeah, and that the phase design is you guys assessing. Right? Where [00:24:00] are we? Is this good? The other pieces, um, this commission has already requested an extension from the city council and gotten it. So it's possible one would think that it is possible for you all to accept, to assess and say, you know what, we'd like to push out our termination deadline further. And that- that's something you guys can talk about and make that request. So that's part of what there is to decide on to. I think that's basically what I would add. And we're definitely open for questions. And of course, you guys will be caught talking together as well. [00:24:47] Commissioner Merritt, with questions. And it's way to understand that, um- part of this is playing like a devil's advocate. So just to get that on the board there, [00:25:00] but um, so- the proposal there's how- how many entities or organizations- is it five? [00:25:09] Four. [00:25:10] Is four. Okay. So I wanted to make sure that- so each of the four [NOISE] has local contacts. As the point of contact person, person who knows Iowa City and- can knows- at least has access to the history so that it can be more of a personal- a personalized approach as opposed to applying something that's happened at similar place, but not exactly. So that's one of things I wanted to make sure that that was the case. [00:25:42] Yeah, Absolutely. So especially for out-of-state partners. So Kearns and West does have that fact- finding person and then as well um- um, why am I blanking on their name, uh, [LAUGHTER]. [00:25:56] Think piece. [00:25:56] Think piece. Thank you. It's like truth or anything. Yeah. Think piece also [00:26:00] has identified a local partner in their scope that will be carrying out some of that work on the ground. And they're also in St. Louis, so it's really not that far or David Ragland is in St. Louis, so they've just not- it's not super far that's what I wanted to say. We share a border. [LAUGHTER] [00:26:18] And both of them have come and visited the person so they're invested in this process and has shown a very specific interest in- in being in the community as much as they can. [00:26:30] But understand those concerns. [00:26:32] Yeah. [00:26:33] I'd- I'd love to add something. If you guys, if the commissioners think that you would like to have a liaison who is among you, to different ones of the partners, you can create that. You know. I think. So that that's I- just candidly sometimes I think the way this has gone [00:27:00] is it sounds like the partners are going to kind of be choreographing and telling you and telling you what to do. I actually don't see it that way that we're an information resource and that you- you get what you need to do what you want. And if you want to have one of you be assigned to each of the partners as a liaison to check in, go for it. [00:27:23] I think that would be important just for transfer communication and transparency. All of that, I think that would be an important thing for the commission to do so. [00:27:36] Commissioner Merritt, I also wanted to add that, uh, our local entities are walking as one with the not local partners. So they are working as one facilitator slash consultant. Yeah. [00:28:00] Comm- commissioner Krebs here. I just have a question. This is for everyone I guess. I'm wondering who we're serving. Are we serving community members? Are we serving in a more stomach way maybe like working with the university? Or is it the fact finding that's exposing problem areas? Can anyone answer that? [00:28:29] I'll- I'll give it a kind of my philosophy on this process and when and- so that our commission, our truth of Commissioners is not set up as a lot of other truth commissions have been set up in that we have a government mandate and they have carried out very specific uh, guidelines of what they would like for us- like to see from us. So fact-finding, truth-telling, and reconciliation processes. So we're kind of bound by a mandate, which is, as I've learned through this process, a [00:29:00] pretty good thing. And so in a lot of ways um, I see you know our role as serving- um, serving this- serving the community through um, advising the city on the best way to here truths um, and reach out to them most er, minoritized members of our community, specifically those who are racially minoritized here. Um, and so through the process of fact-finding, one I think that we are serving the community um, so that I think silenced and forgotten stories and truths are being put into public awareness and putting on public record, right? That's an important piece [NOISE] of truth-telling um, and- and fact-finding. Um, and uh- and then at the end of this whole process when we are providing recommendations, we're going to be using those [00:30:00] truths um, to form our recommendations to the city about how it moves forward um, uh, serving, you know, equity for racially minoritized people. So I certainly don't think that this commission is here to serve us and we're certainly not here to serve the facilitators, um, but we are serving the public through a very formal mechanism, that is, the City of Iowa City. [00:30:24] So essentially, are we creating a template or a model for the city to use when situations arise? [00:30:34] There's- there's- the- the sky's the limit in terms of what we actually end up recommending to them. [00:30:39] Okay [OVERLAPPING] So maybe I'm jumping too far ahead. [00:30:42] So I'm a- I'm a- I'm a physician, I'm a diagnostician um, and so I don't like making recommendations until I know the disease process that I'm treating, right? And- and so I think that when we think about some of the conditions that have afflicted our community, racial injustice, and inequity. I- I don't [00:31:00] want to make any recommendations or think about what recommendations that we're going to make until we hear what truth we'll find. [00:31:05] Okay, so through the process, we're going to flush out issues in the community. Okay. [00:31:12] I want to add that it was formed through a resolution. So the mandate is to fact find what Commissioner Rivera is saying, ratio injustices, experiences before making our recommendations. And there is a reconciliation piece. Uh, the other thing I want to go back to, we- eh, the city, ended up eh, creating this resolution from the George Floyd protests that uh, ended up in our city and county. So there-. [00:31:56] So they ended up, uh, yeah because of that? Yeah-yeah. [00:32:00] Do you want to say something? [00:32:05] Yeah. I was just going to add it feels I think it can feel untethered because you're having to trust a process that is also malleable. And so it requires- like it requires so much of you. I mean, it requires vigilance, it requires compassion, it requires trust. And these aren't things that normal commissions do. [LAUGHTER] It is not like usually within the government purview to talk about how your heart feels or what is your gut telling you. But I think in this process that's probably going to be the thing that we really focus on the most. So that may be why it feels as squishy as it does. But know that you're not alone and that, [00:33:00] you know we will do everything that we can to make this process. When we say successful, can mean so many things. But that there are going to be, you know, it's not just the destination, right? It's not just the recommendations, but it is about the recommendations because we do need change. We need to make some things different than what they are. So there's going to- there's going to be that weight on those recommendations. But it really is going to be process- oriented in ways that are going to feel uncomfortable. Which is why the proposal looks the way it does. [LAUGHTER] [00:33:33] That's a good answer? [00:33:37] Yeah. [00:33:40] If I'm allowed I'll add something for you, Commissioner Marie. You talked about some things having local people so that some things are not forgotten. A lot of us on this commission, we are part of that history, including yourself. So yeah, [00:34:00] I just felt I needed to put that out there because you made me think about that part of pieces. [00:34:07] It's a lot of history. [00:34:08] A lot of history we are aware of. Some of our relatives have taken part in being part of this- this work of fighting racial injustice. Yeah, so. [00:34:29] Yes, I have another question. [LAUGHTER] Was- is that really a question but it's a sit because we talked about this commission being different than others because we are basically almost kind of stewards of the City Council. And in doing so and trying to get some of the truce and the history that we have to be- and things being public, we have to be careful on how certain public things are presented so that [00:35:00] it doesn't form whether it's real or not, but a liability for the city. Yeah. So I was wondering making sure that I think I mentioned in the email, it's like how are the people going to be able to express their stories? And especially with them in a public manner. Because you want them not to be filtered. But you also have to remember that, you know, we're representing the City of Iowa City and make sure that we're not going to cause damage for them as well in the process. [00:35:44] Yeah, I- I think that you know there are certain methodologies for truth-telling or storytelling that maybe are less public. If it's written statement or if it's a one-on-one interview [00:36:00] with, you know what I mean like the sort of- but I think that everybody is very like hypersensitive to making sure that we're not you know re-traumatizing or causing additional harm. So I- I think that there are just certain methodologies that we will have to be very careful. I mean, like I said, it will ask you to be vigilant. It will ask all of us to be vigilant and we'll make mistakes. You know harm will happen. And I think that really one of the things we should be talking about as soon as possible is how do we handle it when it does. So. [00:36:35] Great. And so I've heard Eduardo say talk about people having a private space to talk, you know, with one or two listeners. And what I haven't had is the opportunity to say, what do you do with that so that it's documented enough to carry weight, but it protects [00:37:00] the privacy of someone who wants to retain their privacy? And I trust that that- that any of us can ask that question as you guys are trying to choose how to proceed. He also when he was talking about that, he talked about there being big front-facing speaking. And that actually selecting people to do that, people who'd already in other settings express- told their story, told their truth, you know, and- and had a readiness to be in a bigger forum but also somebody was doing the selecting. I think he was part of it. That's what I inferred so that he could choose like what you have to say, would- you- you feel ready and what you have to say will be powerful out there in the community. So I just want to say that the very beginning seeds of that kind of discussion [00:38:00] have been heard. Just the very beginning pointing to this is part of what there is to know. So I trust that with the time that you spend with them, they will be sharing that. And you can ask any kinds of yeah, but or what about, you know, um, and that they share the concerns. So there was something else but it slipped my mind. [00:38:31] I'm done. [LAUGHTER] [00:38:34] If I may. I'm just speaking for myself and I don't know that I'm speaking for the team. I really see you all and so I think- I think it's wise to think of the city. But I think the heart of what you've been asked to do is the truth. So but you'll- you'll determine your own common wisdom about that. But I just [00:39:00] wanted to add that in. [00:39:03] Yeah. One- one additional thing I'll say is because you are a Commission that is with diversity on the forefront. [LAUGHTER] We also recognize that there will be trauma within the commission. And so we're also wanting to hold up that mirror for you as well and say, you know, you can step back and that's okay. We got this, you know, I just want to continually put that out there that as people of color, trans people, queer people, whoever, like we also need to be holding that at the forefront. That you're doing the work and the work is being done on you as well, so as healing partners. That is part of what we want to offer. And you'll see that in the proposal. [00:39:55] Commissioner Marie the piece I wanted to add is that because you're asking, without [00:40:00] hurting the city being acidic omission. We are bound by the parameters of them there, the regulations and the things that- that their boundaries, these are scope. Yeah. [00:40:20] I've worked with many cities and one good thing about resolutions and stuff is they can be amended. So it is a process, but [NOISE] two other things that it's not written in stone. And I'm sure as we go through this process, we're going to have to be going to the city to talk about maybe some of that. [00:40:45] Question everything [LAUGHTER]. [00:40:48] So I'm going to, uh, let you all know that I'm planning on uh, making two motions. The first one will be on the draft proposal and then in the second one will be on timeline for this commission, which [00:41:00] I think is related to the draft proposal as it's outlined a timeline and currently, our expiration date for the commission is the end of June of next year, and that's simply not enough time for us to- to do the work that's outlined. And so we'll have the opportunity to discuss more. But just to move things along, I'm just going to make a motion to recommend the draft proposal to City Council for our facilitators. [00:41:30] You'll second? [00:41:31] I will second that, or were you seconding? [00:41:33] No, go ahead. [00:41:35] Okay. I'll second that. [00:41:38] So we do have the opportunity to discuss more if- if we'd like to or we can move on to a vote. [00:41:44] I do have just one- one [LAUGHTER] comment. I know that the city has set aside your money for this and looking at the budget, I was wearing his- I guess I'm looking ahead [00:42:00] and thinking that there's a lot of opportunity for grants to apply for it to help finance some of this. It's laid out very well. Actually, I've- I've done grant writing, I was like, this would be perfect. So I want to make sure that, um, in trying to help alleviate some of the expenses, that there's always someone that's out there that's looking for grant opportunities to help finance. So it's less of a burden on tax- taxpayers and the city in that thing. [00:42:30] So yeah, actually, we could add that. There's- there's a section for expectations of the city and commissioners that I think, adding that potentially for the expectation of the city would be where I would put that. And also just want to point out that like our timeline is going to change [LAUGHTER] because we're already past date on starting. So anyway, I- I know you're going to make your recommendation, but just wanted to point out if it's okay for us to amend the timeline [00:43:00] on that, given where we are in November. [00:43:06] I'll amend my motion to include potential edits to this draft proposal that was in our agenda packet. One will be to include a line item about expectations for the city to look for grants to fund some of these projects. I mean, activities as well as just, ah, attending or adjusting some of the timeline and dates that are included. For one that probably is more realistically going to start in January of 2023. [00:43:34] I'm still seconding. [00:43:36] Are there any discussion among us commissioners? Okay. Then I guess we can move forward for a vote, Stefanie. [00:43:48] And so how will the commission get the- the updated draft? [00:43:53] How do you want to get it? Do I send- do we send it just to you or do we send and you send it? [00:44:00] Yeah, that would probably be best. [00:44:03] I'm just taking notes here. [00:44:06] Do we still will be able to vote on this tonight Stef? [00:44:10] Yeah. I think you can. My- my only friendly suggestion is the extension, maybe waiting until you see the timeline that the facilitators layout in the proposal. Because I mean, that it's not really going to change anything. I mean, if you ask for it at this meeting or the next one. [00:44:32] Yeah. I- I, there's the sense of making that recommendation now is as it currently stands, the TRC is lifeline does go until the end of June. And if we're submitting a proposal that includes States then there should be a formal recommendation that goes along with that. [00:44:49] We can adhere to your recommendation, that would help us with that. [00:44:53] So yeah. I mean, I'm projecting extending our timeline to December- [00:45:00] end of December 2023 and a few can make. I think what's listed in Phase 1, 2 and 3 comes out to 13 months. And so if you could squish that a little bit into 12 months from January to December of next year, that'd be great. [00:45:13] Yeah. Okay. So just to clarify, we're putting all of those together for one vote right now, was that my understanding? [00:45:23] So the two amendments to the, ah, the proposal is one to include a line about grant- grants, and then one will be to just edit the projected timelines to fit more of something that will be like January to December of 2023. And then we'll- we'll do another vote on that- that timeline second. [00:45:46] I have a comment about that. I know that we want things to start January 1st, but the way the city works, that's probably not even realistic. [00:46:00] Because once it goes through here, it's going to go through the staff to see about what um areas that we- they already have in- in place that could work with this. And then even with the city of proving it, there's the city attorney that's going to have to do contracts. And so I didn't know if we do it as its- do it as a date or do more as like, once we're ready to go, it's going to take this many months to do this, this many months to do this, this many months to do this. And then with that, it'll be pretty obvious that the June is not going to work. So it'll help with the- the requests from the city to extend the- the commission if that makes sense. [00:46:51] So what are you suggesting? [00:46:57] I may- I would like to see- this here. [00:47:00] So I think the- the months that were on here, we're based off of having a deadline date, which I think we should personally don't think about the deadline then about what is realistic in the number of months for phase 1, the number of months it would take for phase 2, number of months for phase 3. So that when we present it to the city, they'll be able to figure out, but once everything's ready to go, they can figure out, okay, how is this going to go with their fiscal year and everything rather than- so rather than us giving them when the start date is, we just say this is how long it's going to take for this face to work. And this is how long does it take for this face to work? [00:47:44] It totally makes sense. I just wanted to note that the- the city asked us to put dates. So I agree. I think realistically, that is what happens. I think that if we put down a start date of [00:48:00] February 2023, I think it gets to what you're saying. [00:48:03] When did they ask for the dates by the way? [00:48:05] That in, when we presented to them last. [00:48:08] August, I think. [00:48:09] Yeah, in August, they were like, this is too- this too loose scenario. You know what I mean like [LAUGHTER]? Because that's really what we propose. This is how many months it'll take. And they were like, when can you start? And we were like, when we're ready. When you're ready, we'll start. But it is- it is true that with contracting and honestly the holidays, let's be real. [00:48:29] Yeah. [00:48:30] Like it's probably not going to actually start- start till maybe February to your point. But if we say January, then at least we can have something in our contract to like, you know what I mean? Like just to get things like moving. And then to your point, if we need to add more time, there's an addendum or something. Like that can do change [OVERLAPPING]. [00:48:53] If the city ask for dates- open dates. [00:48:55] Yeah, it's like [LAUGHTER]. [00:48:57] All right. It's already squishy. [00:48:59] My [00:49:00] tentative say start date in January was just based on what we discussed at our last meeting, which if we were able to get this proposal on city councils just by beginning of December then they might be able to approve that and then start the process of putting out an RFP for some of the things included. [00:49:19] Yeah. The personnel. [00:49:20] Yeah. [00:49:21] Yeah. [00:49:21] And commissioner Marry. I also want to add, I don't know, did that- we had a session with the council and we thrashed out a lot of the questions with them. And it's only that we had some concerns we had to deal with. We have been ready to present it. And we actually worked with the console to, for them to ask all the questions and yeah, on timeline there they sent this back [00:50:00] to be- to put the timeline. Yeah. [00:50:06] So the only thing I would suggest, um, and maybe I'm misunderstanding, if we're going to add a recommendation to push back, maybe we should move into 2024. Um, I don't think we should be trying to squish anything. We should give us enough breathing time. I would say maybe we do the end of 2024 and if we finish early, we finish early, but at least we have that time. And if we need to be like a real, not a real commission. Other commissions, sorry, that cycle out different members, then that's what we would have to do in the future, but it would give us the breathing time to do this because we've already talked about how this is not going to be done overnight or over a year, over five years. [00:50:48] So I agree with that. [00:50:49] May I ask you this [OVERLAPPING] if we were to- if we were as a commission going to say we're going to make recommendation to cities separate from this proposal [00:51:00] that this ad hoc Commission go until the end of 2024. Would that the way that you're ideating this proposal change, um, change your timeline. [00:51:12] You know. I'd have to ask our team on that. We have gone round and round about the amount of time. It is true we are trying to meet deadlines, knowing that, uh, we were probably going to go past them because it's like reality. [LAUGHTER] But I want to say that- I want to say maybe a little, but we don't, we're very conscious of, um, cost. And so we don't want to say like now it's $50,000 more because we added another three months or, you know what I mean? Like we don't want to get into that game of that because we understand- we understand the politics to be quite frank. So I don't want to change [00:52:00] it too much if we did it, maybe a little bit, but I just I don't want the budget to increase and so we've been trying to be very conscious of that. That's my thoughts on it. Obviously. I want to bring it back to our team and make sure everybody else agrees with that. But we've had a lot of back-and- forth conversations about, you know, is this realistic? Do we have enough time and we've already extended what we originally knew was not enough time. So we've already had that conversation. So knowing that you're pushing it to 2024, first of all, really agree with that decision because if you're done early, you're done early awesome. But let's, why- why have this deadline hanging over you? That is maybe too soon. Um, so definitely support that and then we can bring it back to our team and just know that that's really the conversations that [00:53:00] we've been having is trying to balance those things. [00:53:02] Can I ask a clarifying question then for you, chair? When you say that we'd like to push back until the end of 2024, that specifically and we'll make it explicit for the city council that works sending the TRC to go until the end of 2024, but not necessarily hiring our facilitators on for that long, right? [00:53:22] Yes. Thanks for that clarifying question. Just to give us that breathing room to continue whatever needs to be done, um, but whatever is in the proposal should be done within the proposal. And if that gives you more time, I'm not asking for extra time. Yeah, and I think that we've also talked a lot about like what comes of those recommendations, maybe projects and programs that you all want to help for it. You know overseeing and potentially even extend beyond 24. [00:53:53] Education- education is one. [00:53:55] Yeah. Yeah. [00:53:55] This Commissioner Johnson, I brought up before and I'm curious to what you guys think about this. Why [00:54:00] are we not pushing to have a permanent Truth and Reconciliation Commission? We talked about this before and I believe like truth and reconciliation we've already discussed is going to take time, period. All we keep hearing is time time we're going to have to extend this and everything like that. There's no reason for us not to have a permanent Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It would just alleviate a lot of stress and the rotating chairs, that's perfect. But we're never going to have a time in humanity where there's not going to need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. That to me is unrealistic. There's always issues that are going on and people are always going to need a voice. And we can be that voice or whoever the next group is can be that voice. But to keep kicking a ball around, it seems like that's just a waste. Why are we not making that move? [00:54:56] I would agree with you, Cliff. And I think what we need to do now is [00:55:00] prove to the city with our recommendations that this is exactly what you're saying. I think we're still in the proof the proving time of letting like showcasing, like this needs to happen. We all in this room understand what it's going to take, but there are more people that need convincing. So I think that can be part of our recommendations at the end of this because I wholeheartedly agree with you. I don't see how this could not continue, but it's not up to us. We can just make the recommendation. So I do remember you asking about that and I think that should be part of the recommendation. But we're still very well. We haven't even started yet. [00:55:39] Absolutely. I understand. [00:55:42] I do think that there's a lot of value and that's actually putting a timeline on this commission. One because we've been created with specific agenda in mind. And if we want to in our recommendations at the end of our time and our duties, say there should be a commission that [00:56:00] continues on these conversations, but with a completely different purview now that we know what we know, right? And so that's kind of how I'm thinking about it. It doesn't necessarily need to be that this commission at with its current mandate should go on forever because I don't think that it should. I think that we are the body that's creating a process and then we can make a recommendation for an ongoing process later. [00:56:22] I can understand that. I just feel like, uh, no matter what George Floyd situation may have been worldwide that we all understood, but it has, it happens almost every day all the time. And I feel like we can always change, but still keep the same truth and reconciliation. Because that's whats, I mean, it's just, it's always an ongoing thing. As humans, we're constantly making mistakes and we're going to constantly need people to champion that. So [00:57:00] maybe, I mean, I just, I just feel like it needs to kind of stick. [00:57:05] I just want to add I agree with both of you. I- when I'm saying I see it in the future, I see it the way that Commissioner Rivera saying and I see what you're saying. Commissioner Johnson, just how it's needed. But like Commissioner Rivera said, we need to do the diagnostics first to figure out what's needed and maybe move forward in that realm. [00:57:28] Commissioner Krebs here. So something that's become very clear, that just came to me is one of the reasons this work is problematic. We are essentially doing decolonization work within colonial structures. So we have a lot of this right. So not only are we doing this huge, wonderful, amazing thing, we've got to make it work. We've got to mix [00:58:00] oil and water. So we can do this tomorrow. You guys have been doing this for two years and that's going to be- it's going to take time. So when I came in tonight I was like we got to push this through, I got to be on board with these guys, they've been working so hard, but now I'm like ee. [LAUGHTER] [00:58:26] [LAUGHTER] And I think in this situation where you have this and this, we're going to have to find- we're going to have to try to find some middle ground and that's- that's hard. [LAUGHTER] So just thought I'd throw that out there. So I'm kind of in the middle, I don't wanna push anything through. This is- we got to take some time. At the same time, I understand wanting timelines and wanting to put some stuff through, right? Let's get some work done so. [LAUGHTER] [00:59:00] [00:59:03] I, um, would like to know what you'd like to see finalized before we submit a proposal to the city. [00:59:10] Um, I am ready to roll on this, but I also understand needing the time. So I mean, I'm, I could vote on it today. [00:59:27] Okay. [00:59:27] I think that you've created an angle- elegant solution for us, which is to go forward with the vote on the proposal as it stands, and then we have a separate vote for the life of the TRC and that can go well on beyond, um, the proposed timeline that will be included in, um, in this proposal. [00:59:44] Okay. Would you like to admit? [00:59:47] Yeah, so I think that the- the, um, motion as it currently stands is, um, we're going to be recommending this proposal to city council with, um, two main edits, which is one include, um, the- a grant piece [01:00:00] as, um, expectation of the city. Um, and then, um, with a few modifications to the timeline as it's currently written and outlined, um, to be within the same ballpark total range, but, um, just adjusted to our actual start timer, a more reasonable expected timeline. [01:00:19] I'll still second that. [LAUGHTER] [01:00:21] There is no further discussion, we can go ahead with the votes. [01:00:25] Okay. Commissioner Dillard? [01:00:26] Yes. [01:00:27] Commissioner Gathua? [01:00:28] Yes. [01:00:29] Commissioner Johnson? [01:00:31] Yes. [01:00:32] Commissioner Krebs? [01:00:33] Yes. [01:00:33] Commissioner Merritt? [01:00:35] Yes. [01:00:35] Uh, Commissioner Rivera? [01:00:37] Yes. [01:00:38] And Commissioner Traore? [01:00:39] Yes. [01:00:42] Motion passes 7, 0. [APPLAUSE] [LAUGHTER] [01:00:46] I hope I never have to do that ever again. [LAUGHTER] [01:00:50] Yeah, you're gonna. [LAUGHTER] [01:00:51] Um, I'm so excited, you guys. Uh, thank you, everyone if there's an. [01:01:00] Making second motion. [01:01:02] Oh there- yeah there's a second motion. Isn't it? [LAUGHTER] Go ahead. [01:01:05] Um, I'll make a second motion, um, to extend the timeline of the Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission until, um, the end of 2024. [01:01:18] I will second. [01:01:21] Okay. If no further discussion, we will vote on that. [01:01:26] Okay. Uh, Commissioner. [01:01:29] Um, one sec, I just had, uh, one thing. [01:01:32] Oh yeah. Go ahead, Mohamed. [01:01:34] Yeah, so, yeah this is Mohamed. Um, so my one question on this, so the extension until the end of, uh, did I just hear you say 2024 or is it 2023? [01:01:45] 2024. [01:01:48] So the end of 2024, okay. So this coming year and the year after that? [01:01:52] Yes. [01:01:53] And is it fiscal? [01:01:55] Um, December 31st, 2024 is how I understood it. [01:01:59] Yes. [01:01:59] Calendar. [01:02:00] Calendar year. [01:02:01] Okay, so another two full years. Okay, so my one question on this is, the requirements for being on the Commission also include, uh, having to have this area as your primary residence the entire time? And you know, I don't know about all of your plans in things of that nature, but, for me personally, my vote is going to come down to whether I can say for sure that there's no way I'm going to move or have to step out in that period. [01:02:34] Sorry to interrupt you, Mohamed. Go ahead. [01:02:38] Um, yeah- I just wanted to include that, uh, as well. Because there's times I've been told, the total amount of time on the commission in the time I initially put towards it, I'm just not sure I can say right now, December 2024. [01:02:54] I think, um, when we're talking about this, we- uh, as we were discussing we're saying if- if some people [01:03:00] feel that they need to remove themselves from the commission, and that is totally fine just like other commissions throughout Iowa city do operate. We're not expecting anyone to make a full commitments. Um, I can say I- I myself don't know what I'm going to be doing in 2024, so do not feel obligated at all. This is just to extend the life of the commission so that we are able to continue doing the work, um, even after our proposal team, um, helps us do the- the proposed work. [01:03:29] So this, Commissioner Merritt so it's basically still a commission, nine seats, that's more of what we're talking about. There's obviously going to be something that come up and the- the actual people may change, but the board- the commission itself is what we're talking about to extend to the. [OVERLAPPING] [01:03:47] Yes. [01:03:47] Absolutely. [01:03:48] Yes. Just the commission itself as, uh, Commissioner Merritt, uh, just said. Does that, um, answer your questions, or, um, alleviate any worries, Mohamed? [01:04:00] Um, yeah, I guess I understood more on the- on the clarification. Um, yeah- yeah, I guess, uh, we'll just want to get clarity from council on things such as minimum number of people on the commission, etc, things like that so other indices don't come into play. [01:04:17] Of course. [01:04:18] Yeah, that's all I have. [01:04:19] Awesome, does anyone else have any questions about this, um, motion or want to discuss further? Okay, Stef, could we please do a- a vote? [01:04:31] Okay, uh, Commissioner Dillard? [01:04:33] Yes. [01:04:34] Commissioner Gathua? [01:04:35] Yes. [01:04:36] Commissioner Johnson? [01:04:37] Yes. [01:04:38] Commissioner Krebs? [01:04:39] Yes. [01:04:40] Commissioner Merritt? [01:04:41] Yes. [01:04:43] Uh, Commissioner Rivera? [01:04:45] Yes. [01:04:45] And Commissioner Traore? [01:04:50] Uh, I'm going to abstain from this one. [01:04:53] Motion pass 6, 6, 0, one abstention. [01:04:57] Awesome. Um, we'll now move on to commissioner [01:05:00] announcements, um, but first we'll start with staff. [01:05:03] I don't have anything, thank you. [01:05:04] Awesome. Um, does anyone have any announcements? And just reminder no one- we cannot speak to each other or interact during this time. [01:05:13] Uh, this is Commissioner Johnson, uh, Saturday, we got to state tournament. We've been working on it for quite some time. Uh, first time the state tournament has, uh, been- if I remember, if I know correctly, uh, brought to Iowa City at all. And, uh, boxing state tournament I should say, uh, and first time we've had a state tournament a long time, uh, as well as a Golden Gloves are right down the- right down the road. We're looking to bring that here, that franchise here to the city, uh, within the next five months. Still on track as of right now, and if you are interested, come on out, check things out Saturday. Uh, Saturday, and Sunday, because it's a two-day tournament, it'll be fun, and, everybody's showing the best that they are, and how- how hard they work. So that's all I have [01:06:00] for right now. Oh, times. Yeah, uh, three o'clock- three o'clock and one o'clock. That's a thumbs up. Three o'clock and one o'clock on, uh, Saturday and, uh, Sunday. [01:06:15] On Nove- uh, just want to mention again that October is domestic violence awareness month. On November 5, together with the scenes I coordinate, Nisaa African Family Services who serve survivors/victims of domestic violence, who identify as African immigrants and refugees. On November 5, we shall have a joint event with African Student Association, at the University of Iowa, and have a discussion on domestic violence and continuing to prevent domestic [01:07:00] violence. Uh, that's one item I had, and the last week on Monday, Hancher theater, they- they hosted Soweto Gospel Choir. And their music, it's really reminding me of this work that we're doing of, uh, fact- finding on ratio- on racism. Because their music is always to remind the world that music- African music [NOISE] was part of the tool that, uh, Black Africans used to fight apartheid in South Africa. So the one-and-a-half hours spent on Hancher for [01:08:00] me, it was both very sacred time, but also very triggering. Ur, because, uh, a country like my country of ori- origin, Kenya, is still, even if we do have fly our flag as a republic economically, and not just Kenya but Africa. And also for people who are of African origin in the world, we're still very economically and culturally very oppressed, uh, in the world, uh, by the Western world. And that brings me to today. Today Kenya is celebrating and remembering that 60 [01:09:00] years ago we got self-government from British colonialism. I yield. [01:09:14] Anyone else? If not, I will, uh, move to, um, for a motion to adjourn. [01:09:23] I motion to adjourn. [01:09:26] Rivera, second. [01:09:29] Thank you, everyone. [01:09:31] Thank you.