Citizens' Unity Commission

Citizens’ Unity Commission Annual Retreat Meeting Minutes Monday, September 20, 2021~ 6:00 pm-8:00pm Ruppert Sargent Building, 1 Franklin Street, Hampton, VA Attendance:, Katrina Bailey, Alice Capehart, Jennifer Evans, Whalan McDew, Malik Perry, Ellen Velissarios, Chris Grady, Mei Stukes, Shuntay Tarver, Steven Wendell Absent: Justin Carolina, Trevor Hudson, Tamika Lett (Absent Notified), Luretta Ray (Absent Notified), Joiecel Riviera, Erica Spencer (Absent Notified) (Absent Notified), Mary Wallace (Absent Notified), Barbara Washer (Absent notified), Staff: Latiesha Handie (Executive Director), Imara Gabe Diaz (Interim Director), Assistant City Manager Steve Bond, Hugo J. Morrison (Education Manager) Call to Order – Imara Gabe Diaz @ 5:32 pm Roll Call – Imara Gabe Diaz Action Items Item 1: Welcome and Introductions – Roll Call  Imara Gabe Diaz, CUC Interim Director, asked all Commissioners to sign in on the attendance sheet and called rolled. He also listed the Commissioners who were absent with notice. During Roll call Commissioners were notified of two resignations, Willie Anderson and Ellen Shackleford Item 2: Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes 11-16-2020 & 4-9-2020  Due to a quorum not met, approval of meeting minutes have been deferred until the next scheduled meeting. Old Business New Business Item 1: Department Announcement  Latiesha D. Handie, CUC Executive Director, announced that she had accepted a position with the City of Hampton Youth and Young Adult Opportunities to focus on gun violence prevention and intervention. She furthered thank the Commissioners for all of their support in the past and urged their continued support of the programs and offerings of the Citizens’ Unity Commission. Latiesha also announced that Imara Gabe Diaz would be the Interim Director for CUC. Item 2: Retreat Presentations 1   Interim Director, Imara Gabe Diaz made several announcements regarding Hampton Swag that was made available to Commissioners, namely PPE and the Hampton icon masks. CEARC & YAG members were excused from the remainder of the meeting to focus on retreat items for CUC.  Item 3: Electronic Meeting Policy Attorney Lola Perkins from the City Attorney’s Office reviewed the Electronic Meeting Policy Resolution which allows those who meet the criteria in certain specific situations that prevent physical attendance remote access to fully participate in a commission meeting. The resolution states that the meeting must still take place at a physical location and a physical quorum must be present at the meeting. The voting quorum must vote at the start of the meeting to allow said Commissioner to participate electronically. If that is a yes vote, the Commissioner would then be granted access to participate either via Zoom or phone. This resolution must be accepted by a vote and since we did not meet a quorum at the retreat, voting was deferred.  Item 4: Community Plan Assistant City Manager Steve Bond shared the Community Plan presentation with the Commission. There are two parts to the Community Plan which are the strategic plan and the comprehensive plan that we will complete simultaneously envisioning Hampton 2040. A copy of the power point presentation has been made available to the department.  Item 5: FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Training Attorney Lola Perkins reviews FOIA with Commissioners and provides examples of the custody of public records. Simultaneously emails back and forth between three or more commissioners can be considered a meeting according to the Supreme Court of Virginia. Email, text messages, and social media post that contain any parts of business must be retained as public record and shouldn’t be deleted. Go-Backs Gabe announced we will be getting together soon to review, edit, and amend by-laws. Lola Perkins asked the Commission to review the entire document; therefore anything that is no longer in alignment with the commission can be changed during the updating of the document. Commitment to Excellence will be reviewed at a later date for all who were not able to attend the training hosted by City Manager’s Office. All terms are frozen in place as of now. If you’re term has expired or is expiring you are still able to participate and we would love to have you. City Council will give guidance on the acceptance of new applications in the near future. Announcements Thomas Nelson Community College has undergone a name change. Signage will be delivered soon; however, there is a counter agreement introduced “Save Thomas Nelson” in opposition to the renaming of the school. Adjourned 7:09 pm Next Meeting Date and Time: Friday, October 8, 2021, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm 2