Community Relations Commission

1 Minutes of a Meeting of the 2 Community Relations Commission 3 Northbrook, IL 4 Thursday, February 5, 2015 5 6 Present: Chairman Ray Wehr, Commissioners Dale Duda, Linda Goldsher, Safa 7 Hamed, Chris Kosla, & Dr. Rochelle Singer 8 9 Representatives: Mary Hansen, Alice Lonoff, Bob Lozaro, Ron Mantegna, Nancy Stoddard, 10 & Susan Weil 11 12 Absent: Commissioner Elliot Bruckmann, Commissioner Bruce Doughty 13 14 Guest: Derek Simons/Divine Word, Joy Stuart/Northbrook Park District 15 16 Others: Staff Liaison Mike Strong, & Recording Secretary Gale Cerabona 17 18 Call to Order & Welcome 19 Chairman Wehr called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. in the Board Room at Village Hall. 20 21 Approval of January 8, 2015, Regular Meeting Minutes & Subcommittee Minutes 22 A motion was made by Commissioner Duda, seconded by Commissioner Singer, to approve 23 January 14, 2015’s, Sister Cities Subcommittee minutes. On a voice vote, the motion carried 24 unanimously. 25 26 A motion was made by Commissioner Singer, seconded by Commissioner Duda, to approve 27 January 13, 2015’s, Black History Month Subcommittee minutes. On a voice vote, the motion 28 carried unanimously. 29 30 A motion was made by Commissioner Duda, seconded by Commissioner Singer, to approve 31 January 22, 2015’s, Asian Heritage Month Subcommittee minutes. On a voice vote, the motion 32 carried unanimously. 33 34 A motion was made by Representative Hansen, seconded by Representative Lonoff, to approve 35 January 28, 2015’s, Interfaith Sunday Subcommittee minutes. On a voice vote, the motion 36 carried unanimously. 37 38 Revisions for Regular Meeting minutes were identified as follows: 39  Line 55 replace April 21 with April 23 40  Line 66 reword to say….No one from the audience chose to speak. 41  Line 104 delete first sentence 42  Line 113 replace thrown together with formulated 43  Lines 128-130 delete entire paragraph 44  Line 153 replace Jiles with Giles 45  Line 157-159 reword to say….The Clergy Association is writing an open letter to the 46 Northbrook community asking people to think about questions raised by 47 Ferguson and Staten Island -- i.e. why there is still inequality in the 48 judicial system, in education, and other areas. The letter will invite 49 NCRC to join the Clergy Association in putting together a forum to 50 discuss these issues.  Minutes of a Meeting of the Community Relations Commission February 5, 2015 51  Line 177 replace Chairman Wehr with Ron Mantegna 52 53 A motion was made by Representative Mantegna, seconded by Representative Stoddard, to 54 approve the January 8, 2015, minutes as amended. On a voice vote, the motion carried 55 unanimously. 56 57 Hear From the Audience 58 No one from the audience chose to speak. 59 60 Village Staff Report 61 Staff Liaison Strong advised: 62  A new guide for agenda and minutes procedures will be provided to Commissioners. 63 Commissioner Duda asked what the issues are. Staff Liaison Strong stated each 64 Commission provides minutes differently so this effort is to promote continuity. 65  The Village is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Fire Chief, Jose Torres. 66 His start date is February 16, 2015, and he will be sworn in at the Village Board meeting 67 on February 24, 2015. 68 69 Black History Month Update 70 Commissioner Singer asked for volunteers and advised that hot dogs will be prepped at 71 11:30 p.m. with the event beginning at 12:30 p.m. 72 73 She reported that chairs are being loaned by St. Norbert; volunteers are needed to unload them. 74 75 Commissioner Singer asked that Commissioners, Representatives, & Guests notify her when 76 they arrive. 77 78 Commissioner Singer advised that questions will be illustrated on notecards; she asked that 79 Commissioners, Representatives, and Guests submit questions as well. 80 81 Commissioner Singer stated that Mark Gerstein, of Northbrook Action Baseball, is providing 82 links to the flyer for this event on their web site. Staff Liaison Strong advised that event 83 information is also available on the Village web site under Boards & Commissions/Community 84 Relations Commission. 85 86 Commissioner Singer advised that banners are posted. Representative Mantegna stated that 87 advertising will take care of itself based on the team’s presence. He noted that flyers have been 88 distributed around town and circulated at the subcommittee meeting; he asked that Staff Liaison 89 Strong re-circulate flyers to new requestors. 90 91 Commissioner Singer stated that handouts will be provided on-site. The program is dedicated to 92 Ernie Banks; Representative Mantegna read the dedication. 93 94 Commissioner Singer advised that parking will be an issue; there will be signage and volunteers 95 to assist with parking. 96 97 Commissioner Duda asked how many hot dogs are being prepared. Commissioner Singer 98 replied a few hundred with food service located in the ABC Room; hot dog servers are needed. 99 2  Minutes of a Meeting of the Community Relations Commission February 5, 2015 100 Staff Liaison Strong asked when the program will be ready. Representative Mantegna replied 101 the Monday before the event. 102 103 Discussion took place on who should be publicly thanked, noted on program, etc. 104 105 Commissioner Singer concluded that she believes the (order of) protocol is the pledge, the 106 national anthem, and then the dedication. 107 108 Sister Cities Update 109 Commissioner Duda advised it was a productive meeting. Staff Liaison Strong read 110 Commissioner Doughty’s notes which are indicated in the subcommittee minutes. 111 112 Staff Liaison Strong stated that he gathered information from nearby suburbs. He advised that 113 the first step is to develop the program. He shared that students have expressed interest in this 114 opportunity. 115 116 Asian Heritage Planning 117 Chairman Wehr advised that the event will be scaled back; there will be 8 rather than 14 118 performances. He indicated that the focus will be on presentation and information; Consulate 119 staff will speak on their cultures. Some acts are already secured. Partnership with the YMCA will 120 take place, and a Chair is yet to be secured. Representative Lozaro added that by having the 121 Consulates’ staff speak, the program is augmented with education. Representative Mantegna 122 reminded that Consulates have budgets. Representative Lozaro deferred to Chairman Wehr & 123 Staff Liaison Strong. 124 125 Commissioner Singer asked if food vendors are still slated. Chairman Wehr advised they are, 126 noting that arts and crafts will be scaled back. 127 128 NCRC Award Update 129 Commissioner Goldsher advised that there is one applicant with two weeks until the deadline. 130 131 News from Clergy Association & Houses of Worship 132 Commissioner Kosla advised that tasks for Interfaith Sunday are underway – i.e. passports, 133 flyers, trivia, Village Board speaker, t-shirts (Clergy Association may assist), Sing for Peace, 134 clergy members on subcommittee. 135 136 Representative Weil asked how long the program is. Commissioner Kosla stated it begins at 137 12:30 p.m. until 1 p.m. and final gathering at Village Hall at 4:00 p.m. Commissioner Kosla 138 advised the date is April 19th from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. with food/beverage directly following from 4 139 p.m.-5:30 p.m. He noted the venue may be The Chalet or Village Green. 140 141 Commissioner Kosla stated the budget is estimated at $1,420 (which includes stamps, room 142 rental, 200 t-shirts, pizza, bottled water, banners). 143 144 Representative Lonoff advised that she secured a guitarist to lead the songs. 145 Commissioner Singer stated that if the Clergy Association sponsors, the budget will be reduced. 146 147 Commissioner Kosla suggested that the Village staff print posters. Commissioner Goldsher 148 suggested asking Houses of Worship for banners. 149 3  Minutes of a Meeting of the Community Relations Commission February 5, 2015 150 Commissioner Duda asked about increased participation from Houses of Worship. 151 Commissioner Kosla recommended reaching out to more, noting suggestions are welcome. 152 Representative Mantegna suggested contacting Chaldean Church in Northbrook. 153 Representative Lozaro reminded that all CRC members should reach out to Houses of Worship. 154 155 Staff Liaison Strong advised that he would like to add a map of participating Houses of Worship 156 on the Village web site. Representative Lozaro noted that some drop out at the last minute. 157 158 Commissioner Goldsher stated the week of the event (for accurate participation). 159 160 News from Schools 161 Staff Liaison Strong read Commissioner Doughty’s notes regarding District 225: 162  Second semester is up and running 163  A new principal search is proceeding 164  Variety Show is the weekend of February 12-14, 2015 165  Turnabout is the following weekend on February 21, 2015 166 167 Representative Lozaro shared information on a marketing program taking place at District 225. 168 169 Commissioner Hamed advised that students at the Community College are trying to start a 170 Club, noting that 10 people are required. She asked that Commissioners, Representatives, and 171 Guests advise her if there are any (GBN) students who wish to participate. Commissioner 172 Hamed stated she will be an Advisor to the Club. 173 174 Old Business 175 There was no Old Business. 176 177 New Business 178 There was no New Business. 179 180 Eyes & Ears on the Street 181 Guest Joy Stuart introduced herself as the Communications Supervisor with Northbrook Park 182 District. She noted the following: 183  Winter Carnival is February 21, 2015, from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 184  Nominations are open for Northbrook Sports Hall of Fame candidates; information is 185 indicated on the Park District web site 186  Weather Updates are being posted (following decisions from schools) 187 188 Representative Stoddard reminded everyone about Welcome to Northbrook and Flamingo 189 Friday which is being held on May 15, 2015, from 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. Ms. Stuart advised that she 190 and Park District staff are participating. 191 192 Representative Lonoff advised that for Martin Luther King Service Day, there were 170 193 volunteers; duties were described. 194 195 Representative Weil advised that St. Norbert Parish is hosting a Festival of Forgiveness on 196 February 27-28, 2015 which is open to the community. She advised the focus is reflection and 197 meditation (as the flyer notes “our hurting world needs healing and so do our own hearts”). 198 4  Minutes of a Meeting of the Community Relations Commission February 5, 2015 199 Rev. Derek Simons S.V.D., Director at Bridges, introduced himself as a resident at Techny 200 Divine Word who is interested in the Community Relations Commission. He noted the various 201 programs he is involved in and stated he would like to do a challenge grant. 202 203 Representative Lozaro shared these upcoming events: 204  3/6/15 St. Patrick’s Day Party sponsored by St. Norbert’s Men’s Club; 205 entertainment includes the Shannon Rovers 206  3/8/15 Third Annual North Suburban Prom Fashion Show held at the YMCA 207 208 Chairman Wehr noted that the celebration for Le Ann Arnstein’s daughter is this Sunday, 209 February 8, 2015, at the North Methodist Church in Northfield, IL. 210 211 Next Meeting 212 The next meeting will be held on March 5, 2015, at the Village Hall. 213 214 Adjournment 215 A motion was made by Commissioner Duda, seconded by Commissioner Kosla, to adjourn the 216 meeting at 8:14 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. 217 218 Respectfully submitted, 219 220 Gale Cerabona, Recording Secretary 5