Commission for Women

1 MINUTES OF MICHIGAN CITY COMMISSION FOR WOMEN MEETING Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. City Hall West Conference Room Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chair Kathy Dennis at 5:00 pm. Present were Commissioners Albertine Allen, Kathy Dennis, Jo Ann Engquist, C. Kay Hill, Kristina Isabelle, Sharlene Livesay, Dalia Zygas, Bonita Schaaf and City Council Liaison Pat Boy. Absent: Faye Moore Guest Speaker: Lisa Scheller, Area Manager of Junior Achievement (JA), explained that JA partners with elementary and high schools in Michigan City to serve more than 4,000 students each year through presentations given in the classrooms by adult volunteers, often helping schools meet state standards. Lisa asked the Commissioners to consider volunteering or to consider providing funds for the program. Approval of Minutes of the Prior Meeting: Minutes of the January 18, 2018 meeting were reviewed with motion to approve by Livesay, seconded by Hill. Motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: In Moore’s absence, Dennis reported that the balance as of February 15, 2018 is $27,082.46. There were no expenses or income to report for January. Old Business: a. Celebrating Women in the Arts 2018: Isabelle reported that she made site visits to Barker Hall and Uptown Arts Center, which she thought was the best choice of the two. She will continue to look at other sites including Blue Chip and Orak Temple. No date has been set for the event. The theme will be celebrating female artists who live or have lived in Michigan City. b. Ethics Resolution: Tabled until the next meeting. c. International Women’s Day: Dalia reported on plans for the celebration on March 8, 2018 in observance of International Women’s Day. The event will begin at 5:00 pm in Council Chambers with a program about contemporary women presented by Bunny Fisher and Dani Lane. Video tributes to “a woman who inspires me” are being collected in advance to be shown during the program, followed by the staking of silk flowers around the “You Are Beautiful” sculpture, where a photo will be taken of participants.  2 Angie Carlson will be responsible for the videography, editing, graphic design and digital social media. The videos can be used on our FaceBook page and on the Michigan City FaceBook page to promote the Commission for Women. The cost for Angie Carlson’s services will be approximately $1,500.00. Main Street Association has agreed to reimburse $500 of the expenses. Carlson will work later on developing a logo and on branding for the commission. Livesay made a motion to allocate up to $2,000.00 for the marketing and videography project for the International Women’s Day event. Second by Hill. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Livesay moved to reimburse Dalia Zygas for expenses she has incurred for supplies for International Women’s Day in the amount of $312.22. Second by Hill. Motion carried. d. Appropriation from Mayor Meer Mayor Meer notified Dennis that he plans to appropriate $10,000 to the Commission for Women. Dennis asked that all Commissioners attend the City Council meeting on February 20, 2018 at 6:30 pm to show our support and appreciation. Boy announced that City Council member Don Przybylinski plans to introduce an ordinance at the meeting on March 6th requiring the Commission for Women, Social Status of African/American Males and Public Arts Commission to furnish financial reports twice a year. Dennis distributed an Annual Financial Report itemizing income and expenses for 2017. e. Women’s History Month Boy reported that a “Women’s History Month Resolution” will be introduced at the City Council meeting on February 20th. The resolution will recognize women’s role in history, International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month (March). During Women’s History Month, Hill will post daily FaceBook page tributes to women in Michigan City who have made important contributions, including State Senator Anita Bowser, Gerry Jones, and Christina Hale. Hill suggested that next year middle school and elementary aged girls be honored each day. f. Request for Donation Guidelines Dennis distributed a draft of a “Request for Donation Guidelines”. Following discussion, Allen moved to accept the Request for Donation Guidelines, seconded by Engquist. Motion passed. Following are the Guidelines as approved: REQUEST FOR DONATION GUIDELINES The mission of the Women’s Commission is to ensure that women and men have equal opportunity to function fully and optimally as citizens of the city, as equal participants in the economy, in politics and government, in education, in social development, in the system of justice and in all other facets of life. The Michigan City Commission for Women accepts project proposals from organizations that primarily serve women, youth and families. The Commission can use its fund to pay for the following purposes: a.) materials, b.) supplies, e.) education to the public, including promotional, educational, training supplies and for community events.  3 Applications are limited to $500 each. The Commission may, at its discretion, choose to fund special projects at a higher limit. PROCESS ALL DONATION REQUESTS MUST BE MADE IN WRITING AT LEAST 30 DAYS PRIOR TO YOUR EVENT. To receive advance notice of the Commission’s decision, proposals must be received at least two months prior to the Commission meetings. Notification of your request will be sent in writing to you as soon as the Commission has reached a final decision. Proposals will be reviewed by the Executive Committee and their decision will be forwarded to the Commission for its final decision. Requests must be sent in writing to: Michigan City Commission for Women Attn: Commission President 100 E. Michigan Blvd., Michigan City, IN 46360. All requests must include the following: Name of your organization and its mission statement; Contact person’s name, address, phone and email address information; Are you a Sec. 501©(3) organization, if not, please list your type of organization; A brief description of the project and how many people do you anticipate to serve; Time frame of the project; Budget for the project which shows all anticipated sources of funds. If you are funded by the Commission, please submit a final budget that shows how our funds were spent, and an evaluation and report on your program. The policies and guidelines that the Commission approves will be posted on our website. New Business: Plans for 2018: Commissioner Dennis said that we spent a lot of money last year but we need to determine what programs we want to support this year and what we stand for. We discussed the following areas we could focus on: • the increase in young women in Juvenile Detention; • promote training to help young women who are victims of sexual assault; • promote fresh and healthy food from gardens and to teach how to grow food, use coupons, and shop for healthy food; • promote to Mayor Meer that the new M.C. Farmer’s Market accept food stamps. Isabelle suggested we choose four or five areas to focus on this year. Livesay asked how do we make life better and empower women? The discussion will continue at the next meeting. Council Liaison’s Comments: Councilwoman Pat Boy encouraged attendance at the NAACP Awards Dinner on February 17th at Senior Center. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Allen, second by Hill. Meeting adjourned at 5:30 pm. Our next meeting is March 15, 2018. Submitted by: Bonnie Schaaf, Secretary Michigan City Commission for Women 4