Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission

7887 E. 60th Ave. Commerce City Commerce City, CO 80022 c3gov.com Meeting Minutes - Final Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission Wednesday, April 30, 2025 5:30 PMCommerce City Civic Center - Rm 3109, 7887 E 60th Ave Commerce City, CO 80022 1. Call To Order/Roll Call Meeting was called to order at 5:41pm. Present: Iona Longsoldier, Deana Hall, Dee Dee Gilliam, Joanne Gaines Stranahan, Ashley Roman Guests: Scott Vanhuesen and Interpreters Karla & Francisco. Absent: Bianca Gonzalez-De La Rosa, America Carbajal, Marco Vega, and Councilmembers Craig Kim and Renee Chacon 2. Land acknowledgement Iona presented 3. Public Comment Scott expressed his commitment to the group 4. Ice Breaker - Introductions Round table introductions sharing name, place of work, and an unpopular opinion 5. Approval of Minutes Min 25-094 March Meeting Minutes Deana moved to approve the March meeting minutes. Joanne seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 6. Subcommittee Reports A. Legislation & Education (Bianca & Dee Dee) Dee Dee shared a health bill resource. Group discussed how to narrow issues down and decided it would be narrowed down in the subcommittee to then bring to the group. Group took a quick break for food. Commerce City Page 1 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Meeting Minutes - Final April 30, 2025 Commission i. Council Report - DEI Annual Update 6/16 Iona will present to City Council on 6/16 ii. Upcoming Proclamations - 5/19 PRIDE Dee Dee will join in giving the proclamation for PRIDE. Interpreters were dismissed. B. Signature Events (Deana, Joanne, Iona) i. AAPI movie event Iona, Deana, and Scott will attend the event on 5/18. ii. Juneteenth update The poet laureate, Kerrie Joy, now has availability to speak at Juneteenth. The group decided to increase the price to $300 for both Kerrie Joy and the dancers. Food vendors are booked and going through the business licensing process. Staff will also invite the hot dog stand to come and sell food. Staff will check in with parks team to make sure someone will be monitoring toilets. Staff will purchase swag (bags, coloring books, and paper fans, as well as event t-shirts for DEI Commission. Registration for spades tournament will open soon and close 6/12. DEI Commission is asking Cultural Council to take that over completely. C. Recruitment, Engagement & Partnerships (Marco) i. Memorial Day & June events Members aren't available to attend Memorial Day, so the group won't attend. Iona, Joanne, and Scott will attend PRIDE and give away PRIDE flags. Ashley and Scott will attend the first Music in the Park on 6/12 to promote Juneteenth. D. Resource Compiling & Spanish Translations (Ashley & America) No update 7. Review of Bylaws Commerce City Page 2 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Meeting Minutes - Final April 30, 2025 Commission 25-152 Commission Bylaws Dee Dee moved to approve the bylaws as edited. Joanne seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously. The group discussed Marco and America's lack of attendance, and decided to have Iona reach out and ask for them to resign as the bylaws state after three or more absences. 8. New Business Group discussed recruiting at June tabling, and creating a flyer that explains what we do and information for onboarding new members. A. Shirts, Nametags, & Business Card Distribution Send shirt sizes to Melissa if you need one. 9. May Agenda Setting Juneteenth volunteering 10. Adjourn Meeting was adjourned at 7:35pm. **Subcommittee Meetings to take place immediately following this meeting.** Subcommittees did not have time to meet, as the meeting took the full allotted time. Commerce City Page 3