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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Sister Cities Committee - 01/15/2004-ac-14 CITY OF PALM. DESERT VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Rachelle Klassen From: Shelly Allchin, Office Assistant �x Date: March 10, 2004 Subject: APPROVED SISTER CITIES MEETING MINUTES Attached is the Sister Cities Committee meeting minutes for January 15, 2004, which were approved at the February 15, 2004 meeting. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you. CITY OF PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES 3:00 P.M. January 15, 2004 I. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chairman Talboys called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Patricia Bannon Donna Jean Darby Bill Harris Gilbert Slagel Kathy Strong Mark Talboys Also Present: Toni Lawrence, UCR John Marman, Visitor Alibaba Farzaneh, Ex-Officio Member Briana Kirkwood, Ex-Officio Member O'Jay Vanegas, Ex-Officio Member Carlos Ortega, City Manager Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager Shelly Alichin, Recording Secretary Absent: Nancy Jo McIntosh, Chair Rose Mary Ortega Peggy Steen III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING HELD NOVEMBER 20, 2003 Motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 20, 2003 made by Mr. Slagel, seconded by Ms. Strong and carried unanimously by a show of hands. SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 15, 2004 V. NEW BUSINESS A. CONSIDERATION OF NEW CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR Ms. Gomez stated that the nominations for Chair and Vice Chair were going to be done differently then in the past. The committee is at a size where there is no need to have a nominating committee and that the floor was open for nominations from the committee. Currently Ms. McIntosh is Chairman and Mr. Talboys is Vice Chairman. Motion to appoint Mr. Talboys as the new Chairman was made by Mr. Slagel, seconded by Ms. Bannon and carried unanimously by a show of hands. Motion to appoint Ms. McIntosh as the new Vice Chairman was made by Ms. Strong, seconded by Ms. Bannon and carried by a show of hands, with Ms. Darby abstained. Ms. McIntosh is absent and at next month's meeting will be asked to accept or decline. B. CONSIDERATION OFRECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EDUCATION, CULTURE AND ART SUBCOMMITTEE Ms. Darby stated to the committee that the subcommittee has met within the last month and looked at the goals and objectives from the committee's October 25, 2003 retreat. While looking through the 3 or 4 commitments the subcommittee had, they were on line with their Aesthetic Education Program. Ms. Darby proposed to the committee the following programs to continue or begin: 1. Propose and have commitment for the Aesthetic Program at the McCallum. 2. Participation in the New Zealand trip through the Osher Foundation. 3. Art and Artifacts Exhibit — which is on going in City Hall, but proposed to have a traveling exhibit with a list of locations. 4. In -school study programs — which we would integrate areas of geography, culture, language and history to develop a student exchange program — long term. 5. Artist in Residence program — proposed $1,600.00 for the program. Ms. Darby reminded the committee that June 14-23rd are the dates for this Year's Aesthetic Education Program at the McCallum. Motion to approve the subcommittee's recommendations with continual development and to keep the committee updated was made by Mr. Harris, seconded by Ms. Strong and carried unanimously by a show of hands. 2 SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 15, 2004 C. CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL AWARD APPLICATION Ms. Gomez stated to the committee that the committee has some strong programs from last year, particularly in Arts and Culture. If the committee decides to apply, the Arts and Culture would be the committee's best choice. Ms. Gomez spoke to Sister Cities International and asked since the committee received the Arts and Culture award last year would there be a chance for a second. Ms. Gomez did not receive enough information to share with the committee and will have to update them at a later time. In the interim, Ms. Gomez feels that it is appropriate for the committee to decide if they want to apply every year or every other year. The committee discussed the success of last year's Artist in Residence program and the on going impact it has had on the community. Motion to apply for the Sister Cities International Annual Awards Program in the Arts and Cultural category was made by Mr. Harris, seconded by Ms. Darby and carried unanimously by a show of hands. D. ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANNUAL CONFERENCE — FT. WORTH, TEXAS Ms. Gomez informed the committee that the Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas will be July 14-18 and that last year the committee voted for Ms. Gomez to continue to attend the annual conferences. Ms. Gomez reminded the committee that these conferences can be quite costly and that the committee has talked in the past about having committee members who have not attended in the past to do so. Ms. Gomez stated that another option would be for committee member(s) to attend the Southern California Conference, which Mr. Talboys attended this year and felt it was very beneficial and a good leaming experience. The committee discussed the options and will finalize their decision at next month's meeting. Members interested in attending should contact Ms. Gomez to express their interest. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. UPDATE ON IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO RELATIONSHIP Mr. Ortega informed the committee that the Mexican federal government has approved the transportation of the fire engine, medical equipment and the 2 ambulances. The owner of the transportation company came to us to see the fire engine and ambulances and gave Mr. Ortega ideas on how to transport them. It will be up to the committee and Rotary to decide on how much space will be needed for the medical equipment. 3 SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 15, 2004 The following are some options presented by Mr. Ortega: 1. Put the fire engine on a truck and the transportation company would provide 2 drivers for the ambulances. The vehicles would travel together in case of a break down and would be less expensive. 2. Put all the vehicles on trucks, which would be more expensive. 3. Put all the loose items in a 48' box and pack them securely because the roads in Mexico get rough. Have a group of volunteers look at the priority list and what articles need to be packed. Mr. Ortega spoke with Ixtapa and stated that maybe the items will be ready for transportation in 3 weeks. The transportation company has agreed to speak with the customs department ahead of time to let them know what kind of shipment this is, which could possibly be the first shipment of this kind under the new Mexican law that allows this kind of donations duty free. Mr. Talboys, Ms. Gomez, Ms. Bannon, Mr. Siegel and Mr. Harris all volunteered to help with packing of the loose items. The volunteer group will meet in approximately ten days to coordinate the items and decide which option would be best for the transportation. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. CONSIDERATION OF PROGRAM LOGO The committee reviewed the logo samples that were presented. The committee decided to have a special meeting on January 29th at 3:00 p.m. to consider logos. B. UPDATE ON TRANSPACIFIC GOLF CHALLENGE Mr. Talboys updated the committee on the status of the Transpacific Golf Challenge. The subcommittee met last month which has been very helpful. The registration form is close to being finished and the committee will be given extra copies as soon as they are completed. Mr. Talboys met with Desert Willow a few days ago and was introduced to the new Tournament Director, Brandon Alexander. Darrell Souza, the new Head Pro, and Brian Miller, Food and Beverage Director were in attendance as well. Sponsorships are still a priority and Mr. Talboys is asking the committee to work towards sponsors and/or gift baskets. VIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS 4 4 SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 15, 2004 A. CITY COUNCIL Councilman Crites has proposed that Sister Cities signage be added to the Palm Desert entrance signs. The proposal will go before the City Council. Motion to support Councilman Crites' recommendation to have the Sister Cities logo on all the entrance signs in Palm Desert was made by Mr. Harris, seconded by Mr. Slagel and carried unanimously by a show of hands. B. COMMITTEE CHAIR Mr. Talboys feels that it would be a good idea if the budget sheet was categorized and more detailed. Ms. Gomez stated that Mr. Talboys' idea would not be a problem and that the budget will be categorized by projects. C. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Ms. Kirkwood updated the committee of her new email address. Mr. Vanegas informed the committee of the Spirit Keepers lecture series at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum. Also, Mr. Vanegas will be giving a slide presentation on his experience in New Zealand at the Palm Desert Library Monday, January 26th. Mr. Vanegas will email the committee of the correct time. D. SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS - Education/Cultural & Art - Tourism/Economic Development - Humanitarian E. STAFF Ms. Gomez received letters from the students thanking Mr. Vanegas, the committee and the Council for the slide presentation, tour and lunch that was provided during the Student Tour program. The students loved the slide presentation that Mr. Vanegas gave. IX. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Talboys adjourned the meeting at 5:10 p.m. 5