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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCAC.2022.0518.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS SISTER CITIES ADVISORY COMMISSION MAY 18, 2022 1. CALL TO ORDER — Chairman Stumpf Chairman Stumpf called to order the meeting of the Sister Cities Advisory Commission at 4:05 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL — Chairman Stumpf Present: Chairman Nicholas Stumpf; Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia; Commissioner James Wilson; Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach; Vice Chairman Bev Tall Absent: Commissioner Enrique Melendez; Commissioner Zarrin Caldwell Staff Town Manager Grady Miller; Executive Assistant Angela Padgett -Espiritu Present: 3. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. §39-431.01(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 (ip is 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 (i) respond to criticism, (ii) ask staff to review a matter, or (iii) ask that the matter be placed on a future Commission agenda. No one from the public spoke. 4. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approval of the February 9, 2022, Meeting Minutes MOVED BY Vice Chairman Bev Tall, SECONDED BY Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach to APPROVE the February 9, 2022, Meeting Minutes Vote: 5 - 0 - Unanimously 5. UPDATE: New Commissioner The Commission welcomed new Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach. 6. UPDATE: on the April 30, 2022, Arizona Sister Cities State Conference Among the comments made by commissioners on the Arizona Sister Cities State Conference are: • The Honorable Mayor of Cusco, who captivated the audience with his speech, added an international dimension. • The Diplomatic Core introduced a dimension not before seen at conferences. • Required extra breaks • Appreciated that the conference was a one -day affair. • Overcame obstacles using Keynote Speaker alterations • Commendations for Sister Cities Corporation • We would propose to avoid serving appetizers at the conclusion of the event. • Could have benefited from more time to interact with the presenters. 7. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Discontinuing Relationship with Sister City Kastedee, Belgium MOVED BY Vice Chairman Bev Tall, SECONDED BY Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach to APPROVE discontinuing the relationship with Sister City Kasterlee, Belgium. Vote: 5 - 0 - Unanimously Town Manager Miller reported that the Commission makes a formal recommendation to discontinue the relationship. Next, the town Manager would add language to the Council's agenda advising the of the attempts that have been made to regenerate the relationship and that Sister City Kasterlee, Belgium has not demonstrated any interest, and therefore the Sister Cities Advisory Commission is recommending to terminate that relationship. After an action has been taken by the Council, the Mayor sends a letter from herself on behalf of the Town of Fountain Hills to the Mayor of Kasterlee advising them of this. Next, there is a waiting period of approximately four to six weeks to allow for a response from the Sister City. Then, we notify Sister Cities International after we have gone through the process with a copy of the letter sent to the Mayor of Kastedee, along with a letter requesting that they remove the Sister City partnership between the two cities from their directory. 8. DISCUSSION OF: Ordinance Establishing Sister Cities Commission Town Manager Miller reported on the history of the ordinance establishing a Sister Cities Commission. He said that he had recommended forming a commission because sister city relationships are between the cities, and typically the highest office holders play a key role; the Mayors of both cities. He said that he thought it was very important because when you do sister city relationships, they're intended to be for life. He said that he met Sharon Morgan with the Sister City Corporation. He said that Sharon Morgan used to head up the Sister Cities Corporation and was a previous Mayor of the town. He said that when she was Mayor, a lot of these sister cities were formed and she was cautious and skeptical, and he saw it as a nice balance. He said that he saw the great history of the corporation and the wonderful things that they had done and that if it wasn't for them and Mayor Jerry Miles at the time and then Sharon Morgan, when she was mayor, we wouldnt have had these sister cities. He said that he wanted to continue that tradition and ensure at the town level that they continued these relationships. He said that this is why it mentions three members of the Association are also to be Commission members. He said that he would like to keep that limited because there have been occasions when our only business is talking about the corporation business. He said that they want to keep the communication going between the two, and so one of the things that we do have on the agenda is the Reports by the Commissioners and Town Manager. He said that is the opportunity, if there are any other board members from the Sister Cities Corp or any of you to talk about anything that either you want on a future agenda or if you want to give an update to the commission to hear about something that the Sister City Corporation is doing or something that you think is something we need to know He said that if there's something that comes up that you think we need to have action on or more of a formal discussion, then let the Chair know, and then the Chair can put it on as a separate agenda item. 9. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION on Pietrasanta, Italy as a potential Sister City MOVED BY Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia, SECONDED BY Commissioner Marlene Fahrenbach to APPROVE Pietrasanta, Italy as potential Sister City. Vote: 5 - 0 - Unanimously Town Manager Miller reported that they had met with a lady from Florence, Italy, and sent her letters of a proposal from the town. He said that one was for the Mayor of Pietrasanta, Italy. He said that the lady from Florence, Italy offered to bring an information kit, plus a letter of introduction and interest on the part of our Mayor to the Mayor of this community. He said that they were interested but we do not have anything in writing at this time. He mentioned that they have a lot of artists and sculptures, like our town. He mentioned that they would put together a delegation between the Corporation and the Commission that could go there and see if it is a fit and to see if this is something that they are truly interested in. 10. REPORTS BY COMMISSIONERS AND TOWN MANAGER Vice Chair Tall reported that if they may want to do another exploratory sister city it would help if they had criteria on how to choose. Commissioner Ristuccia reported $35,000 or $37,000 for Ukraine and then, at the conference, Mesa agreed to give the $500 from their board. She mentioned that there is a fundraiser on the 26th at Mountain View Kitchen at 5:30 p.m. She said that they were going to have a board meeting prior to the event. She said that it would be a thank you to the community for their support and she believes that Christine Colley is paying for the meals and suggested a donation of $35 that will go towards Ukraine. She said that it has been mentioned that the US government will allow 100,000 refugees from Ukraine and about possibly sponsoring a Ukrainian family. One of the places that we are sending funds to is called Step by Step, which helps provide residential pavilions for the refugees. She said that Victoria is a mother of seven children from Ukraine, with the youngest refugee, her son, 10 months old, and the second oldest is Isaiah, who is 3 years old and has cerebral palsy, and they found shelter and support from Step by Step. Commissioner Wilson reported that he connected with a gentleman by the name of Bob Burns at the Fountain Hills Times. He said that he connected him with a friend of his, who, in the last month or so, took his two weeks of vacation and went to a border town in Hungary and helped with putting together shelters. He reported that there is a small subcommittee on the board that's meeting to talk about the modernization of their website. He said that there are a lot of pros and cons associated with the current system. He said that the team is putting together a statement of work that will go out for a quote. He said that they are putting together a list of requirements so that the developer, whoever they choose, knows exactly how they want this to lay out structurally, as well as artistically, and functionally. He said that the design is centered on delivering the message of who they are and what they do, as well as driving people to important funding mechanisms. He mentioned that although they receive $10,000 from the Town, it is not enough to get them to their dream and the vision that Christine Colley has going forward with the group. Lastly, he said that he is working to build criteria that will help with choosing a sister city. 11. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY Commissioner Lisa Ristuccia, SECONDED BY Vice Chairman Bev Tall to ADJOURN at 5:28 p.m. the Regular Meeting of the Sister Cities Advisory Commission held on May 16, 2022. Vote: 5 - 0 - Unanimously ATTEST AND PARED BY: gela :i.pirit', Executive Assistant SISTER CITIES ADVISORY COMMISSION N(�jet� Stw pf, C`h`airmari^`,,� e» \G\\ C \�\Ca `,pM\CteCon 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 18 day of May, 2022. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 21 day of September, 2022. ngela it - Executive Assistant