z - Retired - Sister City Committee

Sister City Committee Regular Meeting Monday, April 13, 2020, 11 a.m. VIRTUAL MEETING Westmont, Illinois 60559 MINUTES 1. Call To Order - Meeting called to order at 11:04 a.m. by Co-Chair Larry McIntyre 2. Roll Call - Co-Chair Larry McIntyre, Co-Chair Angela Yang, Mayor Ron Gunter, Manager Steve May, Larry Forssberg, Tom Mulhearn, Jenny Babyar; ABSENT - Kevin Carey, Bob Fleck 3. Pledge of Allegiance - Withheld 4. Public Comment - None at this time 5. Minutes - Motion to approve minutes from previous meeting by Larry F, second by Tom Mulhearn, approved by voice vote 6. Reports a. COVID-19 Impact to Sister City 2020 Events/Planning i. Heritage Month Events - Family Fun Fest ● Larry F stated that the event was cancelled, it may be possibly rescheduled later in the year. ii. Taste of Westmont - Chef Exchange ● Larry M. reported that community organizations met to discuss community events and most spring and summer events have been put on hold. The group will meet within the next two weeks to get an update. The Chefs exchange from Taiwan will be affected. Angela Yang said students will finish school late due to COVID-19, and it may be hard to send students to U.S. right after school ends. ● Larry F. asked Angela if there has been any conversations with the Hilton about the Chefs exchange. It was stated that it may be hard to recruit students and it might not work this year. iii. Taiwanese Picnic/BBQ ● The picnic is typically in August and is not in Angela’s term. She will discuss with the new president, but has not discussed it yet. iv. Double 10 Events ● Singing performance group considering coming to area in October. Angela Y. suggested to cancel. v. Fall Student Exchange ● In regard to the Maercker exchange, Larry M updated the group that he had interacted with Superintendent Nugent and Manager May regarding this year’s program and everyone agreed that conversations and planning  should be put on hold with the expectation that there would most likely not be a “traditional” student exchange program in the fall of 2020. Larry mentioned that there are concerns about a second wave of COVID-19 for the 2020 fall and winter. Steve M. confirmed these sentiments. It was also discussed that it would be difficult to secure host families right now. ● Steve M. commented that we should confirm that we are not doing an exchange with Maercker this year. Angela agreed that we should cancel the 2020 student exchange program now. ● Larry M suggested that this might be an opportunity to think about approaching our student exchange in a different way and maybe there could be a virtual student exchange. Angela supported the idea. b. COVID-19 Impact to Sister City 2020-2021 Budget Larry M. reported that this is the time of year that the Village is reviewing the next year’s budget and it is expected to be approved by May 2020. Steve M reported that the annual budget workshop will be April 16, and should be adopted April 23. i. Taste of Westmont ● Village participation on hold until Budget adopted ii. Fall Student Exchange ● Village participation on hold until Budget adopted iii. Spring 2021 Trip to Taiwan/Student Exchange ● Village participation on hold until Budget adopted c. Hsinchu County Cyber Meeting i. Cyber meeting is on hold ii. New Letter from Mayor to Magistrate ● Angela visited the Magistrate when she went to Taiwan and gave him the donated masks. They were appreciative of the donation and made a plaque for Westmont. Angela will talk to the Magistrate about the letter to Westmont. 7. New Business a. Angela Y. reported that Taiwan is trying to maintain Social Distancing. Overall, Taiwan has done an excellent job responding to this situation. Schools are open, Shops and Restaurants are open. Travel is affected. Larry M asked with population so dense, what are the protocols for Taiwan. Angela Y said people still wear masks, they need to wear masks in public areas and indoors with other people. Will get fine if they don’t have a mask on. Taiwan donated masks to other countries. When Taiwan had SARS years ago, it gave experience to Taiwan. b. Angela asked about the March 2021 exchange. Larry F said there may be financial concerns. Larry M suggested that airfare prices may go up. 8. 2020-2021 Budget Recommendation & Current Budget Update a. No update 9. Assignments / Action Items ACTION ITEMS a. Jenny will add cancellation of Family Fun Fest to events update calendar b. Larry M. and Angela will talk further about a potential virtual student exchange program c. Larry M. will contact Dist 201 about status of Student Exchange in March 2021 10. Misc. / Next Meeting - NA  11. Adjourn - Motion to adjourn by Larry F, second by Tom Mulhearn, approved by voice, meeting adjourned by 11:45 a.m. NOTE - Minutes approved at the November 9, 2020 Sister City Meeting