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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Sister Cities Committee 07/20/06APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2006 — 3:00 P.M. ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM CALL TO ORDER Committee Chair Talboys called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL i1 Members Present: Patricia Bannon Rolf Hoehn Nancy McIntosh John Marman Mark Talboys Frank Villar Gary Walker Jean Whitney Member Absent: Donna Jean Darby Bill Harris Rose Mary Ortega Staff and Others: Jean Benson, Councilmember Sheila Gilligan, Assistant City Manager Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING HELD JUNE 15, 2006 Mr. Walker moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the June 15, 2006, meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Mr. Marman and carried 7-1 by a show of hands. Ms. McIntosh abstained as she was not present at the June 15, 2006, meeting. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT Mr. Talboys stated that the Sister Cities website needed to be completed. A discussion ensued regarding the website. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MEETING JULY 20, 2006 Mr. Hoehn explained the circumstances surrounding the website and the need for hiring a website development company. Mr. Talboys stated that he and Mr. Hoehn met with Thetford Web Development, and their cost for website development would be $3,500, with a monthly maintenance fee of $95. Upon question by Ms. McIntosh, Mr. Hoehn stated that he spoke with other companies but did not receive any written quotes because of the deadline to utilize funds in fiscal year 2005/06. Mr. Hoehn did not have a problem with getting additional bids. However, there was a verbal commitment made to Thetford Web Development. Upon question by Ms. Whitney, Mr. Talboys responded that the $95 maintenance fee included hosting, e-mail accounts, and one hour of text and photo changes. Excessive changes would be billed at $80 per hour. Upon question by Mr. Walker, Mr. Hoehn responded that the agreement with Thetford Web Development was that the Foundation would provide the content, and Thetford Web Development would enter that content onto the website. The Committee requested that Mr. Hoehn obtain at least two additional proposals for website development. Upon question by Mr. Hoehn, Ms. Gilligan explained that because of the Brown Act, website development bids could not be distributed among the Committee members outside of a Committee meeting. She added that Thetford Web Development was a conflict for the City, in that Ms. Thetford was the spouse of the Palm Desert Police Chief. Mr. Talboys suggested that this item be deferred to the September meeting. This item was continued to the meeting of September 21, 2006. B. PALM DESERT ART OF FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL Mr. Talboys felt it was a great opportunity to profile Sister Cities in this type of venue. Upon a question by Ms. Bannon, Mr. Talboys said he was working through the issues of cost with the organizers. He said there were exhibitor fees, but Palm Desert Sister Cities was exempt from those fees. However, there were other costs involved, such as providing food and/or beverages to event attendees, and he was uncertain as to what those costs might be for the Committee. Upon question by Mr. Walker, Mr. Talboys stated that the main sponsor of the event was Southern Wines & Spirits. The only wine and beverages that an exhibitor would be allowed to feature would be those within the Southern Wine & Spirits portfolio. There were some New Zealand wines within their portfolio. 6 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MEETING JULY 20, 2006 There were five events that Sister Cities could be involved with; i.e., Friday night's Moonlight Marinade at Desert Willow; Saturday afternoon's The Casks on El Paseo; the Grand Tasting at the Marriott Desert Springs on Sunday; the golf tournament at Desert Willow; and Barbeque. Ms. Gilligan stated that the funds raised from the Art of Food & Wine Festival would go toward the Culinary Institute at Cal State and UCR. Those students would also be working as volunteers at the Festival. Mr. Talboys stated that he and Mr. Hoehn had broad discussions with a couple of restaurants that indicated they would like to help Sister Cities, but until he received a definite answer from Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and/or Gisborne, he could not make a commitment elsewhere. The Marriott had graciously offered two hotel rooms for the chefs from Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, and that was the reason for the deadline of Friday, July 21, 2006. A discussion ensued regarding the lack of communication from Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo. Mr. Talboys asked for volunteers to work the Art of Food & Wine Festival. Those who showed interest in volunteering were: Frank Villar, Patty Bannon, Gary Walker, John Marman, and Jean Whitney. He said the Art of Food & Wine Festival was a very important event for Sister Cities. No action was taken. C. VISITOR CENTER DISPLAY Mr. Talboys reported that he met with Piper Close and Gary Wexler regarding a Visitor Center display featuring Sister Cities, which would include photographs from Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and Gisborne. Mr. Walker suggested that the Sister Cities International 501h Anniversary book be displayed in the lobby at City Hall. Ms. Bannon mentioned that the Sister Cities display in the Palm Desert Library was no longer in existence and that if they wanted to reinstall the display that could be done in November. Mr. Talboys recommended that the Committee proceed with the display in the Visitor Center. Three thousand dollars was budgeted for the display, but the actual cost would be $7,000. Ms. Gilligan stated that the Visitor Center had a fund of $4,000, which was carried over into fiscal year 2006/07. She and Ms. Gomez felt that the Sister Cities display was an appropriate use for those funds. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MEETING JULY 20, 2006 Mr. Walker moved to, by Minute Motion, approve a budget of $3,000 to complete the Sister Cities' displays in the Visitor Center. Motion was seconded by Ms. McIntosh and carried 8-0 by a show of hands. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VIII. OLD BUSINESS SCI CONFERENCE UPDATE Ms. McIntosh reported that Palm Desert was one of the 50 sister cities that demonstrated their programs at "Best Practices." The Committee also received an honor at the Warner Theater. She said pictures could be accessed through the Sister Cities International website. Ms. Bannon stated that there were many good speakers. She was especially impressed by the woman from Israel, whose speech focused on peace throughout the world and her fear of how the world viewed Israel. The speech surmised that the only way to peace was through the youth of her country. Mr. Walker stated that Palm Desert's booth was very popular, and the photographs were great. He said the speakers from Gaza, Israel, and Palestine were particularly good and were on the same platform, all holding hands in peace while the war was beginning. Information regarding communications, community summits, fundraising, local program profiles, sustainable development, youth and education were available on DVD. IX. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. CITY COUNCIL Ms. Benson stated that she was pleased to be with Sister Cities Committee. B. COMMITTEE CHAIR Mr. Talboys announced that the Committee would be dark in August. C. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Mr. Walker asked for direction with regard to his position as the Chair of the Nominating Committee. Mr. Villar thanked Mr. Walker for being the Master of Ceremonies at the graduation program on July 8, wherein they honored some of the students at the horseback -riding program for the Charros. 0 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MEETING JULY 20, 2006 D. SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS E. STAFF None Art, Culture & Education Ms. McIntosh reported that it was time to send notification to Gisborne and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo about the Aesthetic Education Program. Mr. Walker, Councilmember Benson, Ms. Whitney, and Ms. McIntosh would be available to home host in June 2007. Mr. Marman reported that the AEP Program went well. He said Ms. Armstrong agreed to be the Committee's go between in Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo. He was confident that she would be diligent in seeing that paperwork gets completed in time for two teachers to attend the program in 2007. Mr. Walker announced that Indian Wells Desert Symphony had a new name, the "Desert Symphony." The Symphony was still interested in giving a spotlight performance to a representative from the Guitar Festival in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. He said they might be able to piggyback on Jose Feliciano's concert. Tourism & Economic Development Mr. Talboys stated that reservations were made for the Gisborne delegation visit in November 2006. Mr. Walker expressed an interest in ecotourism and wanted to get something started in that regard. Humanitarian None Public Relations & Promotions Mr. Hoehn thanked Mr. Walker for the nice article in the Desert Sun. He reported that he and Mr. Talboys met with Kathy Strong, Editor of 92260 Magazine. They were assured that the magazine would be writing an in-depth article about Sister Cities. Ms. Strong was particularly interested in the Humanitarian Programs. He would keep the Committee updated on this project. Mr. Walker mentioned that he received a call yesterday confirming his radio appearance on KNEWS2 on Saturday, July 22, from 12 noon to 2 p.m., wherein he would be discussing Sister Cities. 61 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT SISTER CITIES COMMITTEE MEETING JULY 20, 2006 X. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m. Lori Wimbish, Recording Secretary *Reminder: Our next meeting will be held September 21, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. 0