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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Sister Cities Committee 12-15-2005V I APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2005 - 3:00 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM CALL TO ORDER Chairman Talboys called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL IV. Members Present: Patricia Bannon Donna Jean Darby Bill Harris Rolf Hoehn Nancy Jo McIntosh, Vice -Chair John Marman Rose Mary Ortega Gilbert Slagel Mark Talboys, Chair Frank Villar Gary Walker Members Absent Jean Whitney Staff/Others Present: Buford Crites, Mayor Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager Stephen Aryan, Assistant to the City Manager Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING HELD NOVEMBER 17, 2005 Rec: By Minute Motion, approve as presented. B. MEXICAN CHEFS Rec: By Minute Motion, receive and file. — D� Mr. Harris asked that Item B be removed for separate discussion under Section V, Consent Items Held Over. Ms. McIntosh moved to approve the remainder of the Consent Calendar. Motion was seconded by Mr. Walker and carried 11-0 by a show of hands. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE DECEMBER 15, 2005 V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER B. MEXICAN CHEFS Upon question by Mr. Harris, Ms. Ortega updated the Committee on the Mexican Chefs event. Upon question by Mr. Hoehn, she responded that the understanding by Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo was that the event was cancelled. The Committee discussed the options that were outlined in correspondence sent to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Councilmember Crites reported that the City Council approved an event called, "Palm Desert Art Food and Wine Festival." The City will partner with the Marriott Desert Springs who will host the event. The event will be held on Veteran's Day weekend. He believed that this would be an obvious venue for the Mexican Chefs event. He suggested that the Committee meet with the Marketing Committee and Tammy Perezchica, Marketing Director at the Marriott and the Festival organizer, to discuss the possibilities of working together. Mr. Hoehn thought it was a great idea. Ms. Ortega suggested that both sister cities be contacted about the Palm Desert Art Food and Wine Festival. Mr. Hoehn felt since Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo had not responded to the original email that outlined the three options, the Committee should now communicate with them about the new opportunity. Councilmember Crites was in agreement with Ms. Ortega regarding her suggestion that a note be sent to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo to let them know that the Committee was working on the Mexican Chefs event. No action was taken. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. SELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIR AND VICE -CHAIR Ms. Gilligan stated that the Committee would become non-profit within the next three or four months. She believed that it would be important to maintain consistency through the transition. Because Mr. Talboys was involved in the creation of the bylaws and helpful to staff, she suggested that the Committee maintain its status quo. Once the Committee becomes non-profit, a new Board of Directors would be formed, and that would be the best time to make changes in leadership. Upon question by Ms. McIntosh, Mr. Talboys responded that he had agreed to extend his term. 2 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE DECEMBER 15, 2005 Ms. McIntosh moved to, by Minute Motion, approve retaining the current Committee Chair, Mark Talboys, and Vice -Chair, Nancy Jo McIntosh. Motion was seconded by Mr. Walker and carried 11-0 by a show of hands. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None Vill. OLD BUSINESS A. CONSIDERATION AND DISCUSSION OF AMBULANCE DONATION Mr. Aryan announced that City Council approved the ambulance donation on October 13, 2005. Ms. Ortega reported that HUM Subcommittee was moving forward with the process. She would like to send the remaining walkers with the ambulance. Mr. Otero was researching that possibility. She said the Committee might have to share the expense of exporting the ambulance. No action was taken. B. SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE (Added to the agenda by a 10-1 vote.) Mr. Harris was concerned about the conference registration and hotel reservations regarding the Sister Cities International Conference. He received an email from Sister Cities International stating that there was an overwhelming response to the conference and that it was selling out fast. Ms. Gilligan announced that the City Manager would approve the out -of -sate travel and those conference registrations and room reservations would be made tomorrow. Ms. Ortega stated that Mr. Otero would make reservations through his department. Ms. Darby requested that business cards be made available for the Committee before the conference. Ms. McIntosh recommended that the Committee hold a garage sale at St. Margaret's in March 2006 to help pay for the conference. Committee members agreed. Mr. Talboys reported that Ms. Ortega, Ms. Darby, and Mr. Otero received correspondence from Sister Cities International regarding their nominations. He said Councilmember Crites and Ms. Gomez should receive their letters around the New Year. No action was taken. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE DECEMBER 15, 2005 IX. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Crites reported that the City Council interviewed one individual for the vacant position on the Committee. Since that time, one additional application was submitted to him, which he forwarded to his colleagues. That individual's residence was outside the City boundaries, which is not normally allowed; however, if the individual had specific skills to the Committee, the residency requirement could be waived. Councilmember Crites announced that Mayor Ferguson was approached regarding the potential making of a video on the life of "Raul Guerrero. B. COMMITTEE CHAIR Mr. Talboys gave a report on his meeting with City staff regarding Sister Cities finances. He stated that City Council appropriated the $10,000 that was donated to the schools. C. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Ms. Ortega requested that the $184 for t-shirts that were brought back from the convention in June 2005 and the $200 approved by the Committee for the Lifeguard Program t-shirts be paid to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sister Cities. D. SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS Art, Culture & Education Ms. McIntosh distributed pictures of the artwork that will be made into posters and used to decorate the two golf carts for the Golf Cart Parade in January 2006. She described how the carts would be decorated. She said the carts would depict Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and Gisbome as vacation destinations. Children would alongside the carts dressed in snorkeling gear, bathing suits and carrying surfboards. She said the posters would be 5 Y2 x 7 a total of four posters on each side at the cost of $1,916.48. She requested approval from the Committee to spend the $2,000. The theme for the Sister Cities carts would be "Bright Deal Visit Our Sister Cities." Mr. Walker moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the spending of $2,000 for the posters as follows: $1,000 to come from the Golf Cart Parade budget and $1,000 from the ACE Subcommittee budget, earmarked for promotional, and artwork purchases. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hams seconded the motion by a show of hands. Ms. McIntosh will send an email to everyone to remind them of the time and date for cart decorating. I APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE DECEMBER 15, 2005 Tourism & Economic Development Mr. Talboys said sponsor and registration forms for the golf tournament would be distributed to the Committee, as soon they were available. He wrote to Dr. Cantu expressing the Committee's support for the project and requested detailed information. Mr. Crites requested that the Committee Chair prepare a rough draft letter for his review. Humanitarian Ms. Ortega gave a report on the wheelchair program. That program was moving forward and could involve five or six Rotary Clubs. She said the program would cost $21,000. The new Mayor of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo was on board with the Sister Cities Program and would support its programs. Mr. Slagel updated the Committee on the wheelchair program. He expressed the importance of meeting with Kay Wanner, President of Indian Wells Rotary Club, who expressed negativity about the length of time it took them to get wheelchairs delivered. He would have further updates after his meeting with Ms. Warner. He stated that they would be reaching out into the community for its support and would draft a letter for the Committee's review. Mr. Villar reported on his experience with purchasing wheelchairs. Mr. Talboys suggested that Mr. Villar meet with Ms. Ortega to give her detailed information. The Committee further discussed the need for wheelchairs and what areas in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo would receive the wheelchairs. Mr. Hoehn said once the Committee becomes non-profit, there would be greater opportunity to apply for grants from organizations in the valley to obtain funds for its programs. Ms. Ortega reported on the firefighter recognition event. She said Club Intrawest had offered to host an event for the firefighters, and she suggested that the Committee coordinate and work with Club Intrawest. Public Relations & Promotions Mr. Hoehn was disappointed that he had not heard from Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo with regard to the Mexican Chefs event. He felt that coordinating with the Marketing Committee on Palm Desert's Art Food and Wine Event would be very good in terms of the promotional value. 5 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE E. STAFF DECEMBER 15, 2005 He, too, was disappointed that the informational materials for the golf tournament were not yet available. He reported that Morris Desert Media contacted him and agreed to become a partner in the golf tournament. Details would be negotiated after the holidays. Mr. Aryan reported on the progress of the bylaws. Steve Quintanilla's office was currently working on the bylaws. My Aryan recommended that Mr. Quintanilla be present at the January 19, 2006, Committee meeting to discuss the bylaws; however, Mr. Quintanilla had a conflict with the 3:00 p.m. meeting time. Mr. Aryan asked the Committee members if they would be available to meet in the morning on the 19t' of January. Due to Committee member conflicts, the decision to meet on the morning of January 19, 2006, was not scheduled. Mr. Aryan received correspondence from the United States Mexico Sister Cities Association. He stated that he would be processing the payment to renew the Committee's membership with the USMSCA. He added that the USMSCA would be holding its annual meeting in Palmdale, California. He had registration forms if any Committee member was interested in attending. Mr. Aryan reported that both Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo schools received their donation monies from the golf tournament. X. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m. Y�X wa CXA� Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary *Reminder: Our next meeting will be held January 19, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. rA