Sister Cities

Sister Cities Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes August 10, 2023 In Attendance: Amanda Logan, Chloe Doucette, Laura Combs, Jim Francis (City Council), Rae Moss, Cindy Ozaki, Stephanie Van Ausdeln (Senior High School Student Member) Absent: Lisa Armstrong I. Action Items o Roll call and confirmation of quorum-5:34pm o Approval of June 28, 2023 Meeting Minutes ▪ Amanda found a few, small typos that she will fix before sending to the city. ▪ Motioned to approve with those small fixes by Rae. Seconded by Laura. All in favor. Motion passes. o Approval of July 13, 2023 Meeting Minutes ▪ Amanda found a few, small typos that she will fix before sending to the city. ▪ Motioned to approve with those small fixes by Laura. Seconded by Cindy. All in favor. Motion passes. II. Discussion Items 1. Update on FY 2024 Budget, if applicable − Jim shared that the Council tentatively approved the Mayor’s budget which included $15,000 for Sister Cities. Final vote is August 24th. − Amanda put together a spreadsheet of all the reimbursements from Laura for the youth visit to Japan and sent to Carla. Laura did not get any additional info from Carla about reimbursement yet. − Submitted just under $800 reimbursement (in line with what the committee had approved) − Laura made purchases with Sister Cities debit card with her name on it. Amanda will make sure that the way she submitted the reimbursement was favorable and the quickest way and ensure that Carla follows up with Laura. 2. Report from Sister Cities Adult Association − Cindy- a couple of invoices ready to send to Amanda. Cindy said that she wanted to know if the City will want to pay any of the invoices directly versus reimbursement (like buses). − Jim- Carla’s last plan was that she would pay these directly with the p-card. − Cindy will send invoices to Amanda who will approve and connect with Carla regarding preferred payment method. 1 of 4 3. Report from Sister Cities Youth Association − Laura sent a few photos to the committee of the trip. − Stephanie gave a trip overview, including the following: − Had a delay in Jackson- lost almost a whole day because of that, but the city of Tokai still made the schedule work and they got to do everything they had planned regardless. − They were constantly going, but some favorite highlights were getting a feel for Tokai and talking to their Mayor, getting to stay with a host family which included cultural and culinary experiences, going to the beach, going to the aquarium, and seeing Mt. Fuji. − It was good weather (although hot)- just missed typhoon season. We might need to get in contact with Tokai now to check in and make sure they’re staying dry. − School was not in session, but clubs put on special presentations for them. They got to hear students play the koto, participated in kendo (Japanese swordsmanship training), archery, etc. − After her experience, Stephanie would like to study abroad in Japan. She is also studying Japanese in college. − Questions from the committee: − Did you interact with the adult association from Japan? Yes- the whole adult delegation who is coming over later this year was very involved. They hosted and they shepherded the trips around the city. − Were there any that were a part of a youth exchange to Idaho that you saw there? Yes! Got to see some familiar faces from hosting. − Anything you didn’t like? All of the walking. The delay getting there. Welcome and farewell parties got cut a little short. − Did you come home with souvenirs? A whole suitcase. − How did the gifts go over? Very, very well. − The delegation was gifted a glass plate of Mt. Fuji. − Chloe suggested they share their photos with the library to be incorporated with the collection. Maybe label all the photos with who is in them. − Thank you to Stephanie for being here. Good luck at university! You’ve set a high bar for the next president. Next president will be Laura’s daughter. We will have her fill out a form with Bud soon so she can attend committee meetings. − Laura asked if there were any connections we had with media to share about the trip. − Amanda will ask David Pace from Post Register if he can do a story where he could also mention the upcoming outreach at the Farmer’s Market. 2 of 4  − Rae can call Rick from KPVI to see if they can do a story. 4. Upcoming Outreach Opportunities − Farmer’s Market booth for August 19th is confirmed. The purpose is to bring awareness to the Sister Cities program, incorporate information about Japanese culture, and solicit some donations for the adult and youth associations to supplement the budget. − Booth space was donated by the market. The market runs from 9am-1pm and we are required to staff the booth the entire time. Setup crew should arrive no later than 8:30am and check in with the information booth about where to set up. It would be nice to break the day up into shifts and would be good to have two of us at all times. − Rae, Amanda, Chloe, Jim, and Laura are available to volunteer. Cindy can’t commit at this point. Laura will also bring her Japanese guests that will be visiting at that time. − Chloe will work set up and offered to let the committee borrow 1-2 10x10 pop up tents, 8-foot folding tables, acrylic signage stands, a water cooler/dispenser, and the gyotaku silicone fish from the Museum of Idaho. − Chloe will also reach out to Jes at the library to request to borrow the Koi kites and perhaps a few other items from the collection. − Jim said that he would let Robert from the library know that we would be using some small print outs of the signage that was designed for the exhibit in the library at the booth. − Rae and Amanda will bring chairs. − Rae will also bring cardboard squares to keep the paint from going through the bags. − Laura and Stephanie have a ton of Japanese snacks that they brought back from Tokai that they will bring to share with anyone who paints a bag. − Rae will order the banner she designed (the Japanese on the banner was double checked with a friend of Stephanie’s and was deemed correct). − Rae will also order 250 canvas bags to print gyotaku. − Cindy will provide Amanda with language from existing brochures which talks about the Sister Cities program. − Amanda will ask Erik to add some “about” information to the city’s website so that we can create a QR code for the booth that people can scan to learn more. (The 3 of 4  independent websites established by the youth and the adult associations need some updating.) − The committee will table the idea for signage at the Japanese Garden until more conversations can be had with Judy regarding a path forward. − Judy has some questions and concerns, and needs to know what kind of support the committee/ associations might be able to offer before moving forward. − As we move forward, Jim will connect Chloe with Judy, Clark, and Cindy to help write some text for potential signage from an outside, historical perspective. − Bud from the city is ready for the text to post with the photographs in council chambers. Cindy will get language to Jim ASAP. 5. Date and Agenda Items for Next Meeting − The next meeting will take place September 14th at 5:30pm at the City Annex. Jim will confirm which room. III. Action Items ● Review and Approval of FY 2023 Outreach Expenditures − Cindy- motioned to authorize the funds for purchasing the banner, paints, brushes, bags, and any other necessary supplies for the sharing of Sister Cities information at the Idaho Falls Farmer’s Market booth on August 19th, not to exceed $1000. Seconded by Laura. All in favor. Motion passes. − Rae will order the banner and bags and submit receipts for reimbursement to Amanda for approval who will submit them to the city. − Chloe will purchase the paints, brushes, and other supplies and submit receipts for reimbursement to Amanda for approval who will submit them to the city. IV. Adjournment ● Meeting adjourned at 6:46 pm 4 of 4