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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCAC.2022.0921.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS SISTER CITIES ADVISORY COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 1. CALL TO ORDER — Chairman Stumpf Vice Chairperson Tall called to order the meeting of the Sister Cities Advisory Commission at 4:01 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL —Chairman Stumpf Present: Bev Tall, Vice Chairman; Zarrin Caldwell, Commissioner; Marlene Fahrenbach, Commissioner; Lisa Ristuccia, Commissioner; James Wilson, Commissioner Absent: Nicholas Stumpf, Chairman; Enrique Melendez, Commissioner Staff Town Manager Grady E. Miller; Executive Assistant Angela Padgett -Espiritu Present: 3. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.01(H), public comment is permitted (not required) on matters NOT listed on the agenda. Any such comment (i) must be within the jurisdiction of the Commission, and (Nis subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. The Commission will not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during Call to the Public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action. At the conclusion of the Call to the Public, individual commissioners may (,) respond to criticism, (ii) ask staff to review a matter, or gig ask that the matter be placed on a future Commission agenda. No one from the public spoke. 4. CONSIDERATION OF Approving the May 18, 2022, Meeting Minutes MOVED BY Commissioner Madene Fahrenbach, Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia to APPROVE the minutes of the May 18, 2022, regular meeting of the Sister Cities Advisory Commission. AYE: Vice Chairman Bev Tall, Commissioner Zarrin Caldwell, Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach, Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia, Commissioner James Wilson 5. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION on Proposed 2023 Meeting Dates MOVED BY Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia, Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach to APPROVE the 2023 meeting dates of the Sister Cities Advisory Commission. AYE: Vice Chairman Bev Tall, Commissioner Zarrin Caldwell, Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach, Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia, Commissioner James Wilson 6. UPDATE on Council Action to Terminate Sister City Status with Kasterlee, Belgium Town Manager Miller noted that the action to end Sister City status with Kasterlee, Belgium began with the commission and then went to Council with the Sister Cities Advisory Commission's recommendation to discontinue the relationship. He stated that a letter was completed and sent to the Mayor of Kasterlee informing him of the intention to end the Sister City association. He stated that the Fountain Hills Sister Cities Corporation had been notified and that a copy of the letter had been provided to Arizona Sister Cities and Sister Cities International. He stated that the Town has done all of the follow-ups from the time it was recommended to Council to take action and then following up on the action. He indicated that the Town will remove all Kasterlee-related street signs and that the Community Relations Director will strive to remove any references from websites. Commissioner Caldwell expressed her support for the decision but inquired whether the town had heard from anyone at Kasterlee. Town Manager Miller responded that the Town, along with the Sister City Corporation, had made several attempts in the eight years that he has been here, and the only time they heard from Kasterlee was when their current Mayor informed them of the passing of Kasterlee's former Mayor, who was instrumental in establishing the Sister City relationship. 7. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION on New Sister City Selection Matrix The Sister City Selection Matrix was discussed by Commissioner Wilson. He explained that he felt it was crucial to develop such a tool and that it was essential to bring objectivity to the decision -making process. He suggested that a more effective tool could assist them in determining whether a city is a true match. He indicated that the Fountain Hills Sister Cities Corporation and this Commission are discussing replacing Kasterlee with a new sister city partnership. He noted that the matrix contains five potential categories of evaluation criteria for comparing and contrasting cities. He cited demographic, geographical, environmental, cultural, civic, educational, economic, commercial, political, and governmental parallels. He stated that he wanted to guarantee that there were sufficient categories to support the selection procedure. How to identify and evaluate the long-term potential of the partnerships was added as a potential action item for the commission by Commissioner Wilson. This is the subjective portion of the matrix, he added. Someone may weight something more or less than another individual, and they would need to reach a consensus on the weighting ratings for these various aspects. Commissioner Wilson noted that the next version will include not just all the data he has collected thus far, but also data for Pietrasanta. He stated that he will conduct data mining and collect as much information as possible for Pietrasanta and include it here. He noted that he could add another city under consideration in Canada, apply the same thing, and compare the two cities side by side. He stated that another version of the matrix will be distributed by Executive Assistant Espiritu. Among the commission's comments were "it is always beneficial to have both objective and subjective tools" and "they appreciate what Commissioner Wilson has done and believe this is a tool they can employ." No Action was taken. 8. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION on Pietrasanta, Italy Delegation Town Manager Miller reported that the Mayor's Assistant Valentina reached out to Mayor Dickey, Christine Colley, and a few other individuals regarding the possibility of their Mayor visiting our town in November 2022. He stated that the town had an internal discussion over the visit of the mayor of Pietrasanta and if a translator would be required. He stated that before they could answer to Valentina, she sent an email noting that the visit had not yet been confirmed and that the mayor still needed council approval. Valentina suggested that three artists might join their mayor on this trip, and an exhibition would be part of their itinerary. According to Mr. Miller, it made sense for them to participate in the Fall Festival hosted by the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce. He stated that they had suggested this to Valentina and are currently expecting a response. Town Manager Miller, proposed the idea of sending a small group of representatives from the Town to Pietrasanta, possibly in the months of February or March 2023. The Mayor, the President of the Fountain Hills Sister Cities Corporation, and the Chair of the Sister Cities Advisory Commission might make up the delegation in such scenario. No action was taken. 9. REPORTS BY COMMISSIONERS AND TOWN MANAGER Among the items addressed were the following: Asia and Africa are two continents that I believe should be considered for inclusion among the potential sister cities, in addition to western Europe. Young people who participate in school exchanges may develop a perspective that alters their lives forever as a result of seeing the diversity that exists in the world. Even though their social and economic systems might not be comparable to ours, some countries may really be able to help as well with exchanges and everything else; it all simply depends on which country and which systems those might be. The humanitarian implications of having sister cities are something that can be a very positive thing. It might even provide stability for a country that hasn't been stable just to have support, and it helps with a better understanding, which is what it's all about, so it's a win -win situation. 10. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach, Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia to ADJOURN the regular meeting of the Sister Cities Advisory Commission at 5:04 p.m. AYE: Vice Chairman Bev Tall, Commissioner Zarrin Caldwell, Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach, Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia, Commissioner James Wilson A ST AND PREPARED BY: Ang-a Es i Executi - Assistant CITIES ADVISORY COMMISSION Bev Tall, Vice Chairman CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Fountain Hills Sister Cities Advisory Commission in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 21 st day of September 2022. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 18th day of January 2023. Sister Cities Advisory Commission PROPOSED 2023 Meeting Dates — Third Wednesday of the Month - 4PM January 18 May 17 September 20 11/29/2021