Community Relations Commission

1 Minutes of a Meeting of the 2 Northbrook Community Relations Commission 3 Sister Cities Subcommittee 4 Tuesday, May 12, 2015 5 6 Present: Chair Bruce Doughty, Members Brandon 7 Bayzaee, Elliot Bruckman, Dale Duda, Safa Hamed, Sam Klein 8 9 Absent: None. 10 11 Also Present: Chair Ray Wehr, Danielle Gensburg, Northbrook Tower, Irv Leavitt, 12 Chicago Tribune/Pioneer Press, & Village Staff Liaison Michael Strong 13 14 Place: Shermer Study, Northbrook Village Hall 15 16 17 18 1. Call to Order and Welcome 19 Chair Doughty called the meeting to order at approximately 7:03 p.m. He welcomed 20 everyone, and then provided an overview for the meeting. 21 22 Chair Doughty welcomed new member Sam Klein to the subcommittee. 23 24 Members Dale Duda and Safa Hamed arrived at 7:04 p.m. 25 26 2. Hear from the Audience 27 No one from the audience chose to speak. 28 29 3. Structuring a Sister Cities Program Discussion and Recap 30 Chair Doughty provided an update on the subcommittee’s role, progress, and 31 accomplishments to date. He provided a PowerPoint presentation to the 32 subcommittee outlining their accomplishments, and the process that has been 33 undergone to date. 34 35 Member Duda asked what the purpose of the subcommittee would be, and if they 36 would be making a recommendation to the Village Board. 37 38 Chair Doughty responded that their goal in the subcommittee was to formulate a 39 recommendation that would include the information needed to move a program 40 forward for the Village. He continued that the Community Relations Commission 41 was tasked with conducting research into what the program would take to be 42 sustainable in the future, including, but not limited to, financial resources, staff 43 resources, programmatic requirements, bylaws and/or charter for the commission. 44  Minutes of a Meeting of the Sister Cities Subcommittee May 12, 2015 45 Member Bruckman stated that the subcommittee will need to get the approval from 46 the Community Relations Commission, and eventually the Village Board, in order to 47 move forward in this process. 48 49 General discussion took place concerning what had been done within the 50 subcommittee. 51 52 4. Subcommittee Roles and Responsibilities 53 Chair Doughty reiterated the need to construct an appropriate process for establishing 54 a framework to develop a sister cities program. He stated that other communities that 55 they have visited, impressed upon this subcommittee to consider a separate agency to 56 handle this process as it takes a lot of work and commitment. 57 58 He continued that he would like to make a formal recommendation to the Community 59 Relations Commission on June 4, 2015, during their regular meeting. 60 61 A motion was made by Member Duda, seconded by Member Bruckman (approved 62 unanimously), to recess for a period of 15-20 minutes. 63 64 Chair Doughty called the meeting back to order at 7:51 p.m., by a motion made by 65 Member Duda, seconded by Member Bruckman, which was approved unanimously. 66 67 Member Duda volunteered to research information concerning the structure of an 68 outside agency, establishment of a chartered 501(c)3 organization, and the structure 69 of a sister cities program. 70 71 Members Klein and Bayzaee volunteered to develop some initial framework 72 concerning the cultural exchange and/or programmatic areas that could be 73 incorporated into a framework for evaluating potential sister city relationships. 74 Member Klein stated that he would like to talk to a couple students about what they 75 think might be important within evaluating the level of cultural connection that could 76 exist with a city abroad. 77 78 Member Hamed and Member Klein volunteered to conduct some research on 79 financial resources that may be needed to start a program, and what fundraising or 80 financial means might be available the could be pursued. 81 82 Member Bruckman and Chair Doughty volunteered to research potential by-law 83 structures of siter city commissions or organizations that vet these opportunities in 84 other jurisdictions. 85 86 Member Hamed volunteered to identify and/or develop a preliminary framework for a 87 process that could be used to identify potential sister cities in the future. 88 89 5. Discussion of Next Steps and Deadlines 2  Minutes of a Meeting of the Sister Cities Subcommittee May 12, 2015 90 Chair Doughty asked that the subcommittee reconvene prior to the Community 91 Relations Commission’s regular meeting in June so that a presentation could be 92 crafted that organizes this information. 93 94 6. Old Business 95 None. 96 97 7. New Business 98 None. 99 100 8. Scheduling Next Meeting 101 Chair Doughty stated that the next meeting will take place on Monday, June 1, 2015, 102 at 7:00 p.m. in the Shermer Study of the Village Hall. 103 104 9. Adjournment 105 A motion was made by Member Duda, seconded by Member Bruckman, to adjourn 106 the meeting at 8:35 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. 107 108 Respectfully submitted, 109 110 Bruce Doughty 111 Chair, Sister Cities Subcommittee 3