Sister Cities Commission

City of Naperville 400 S. Eagle Street Naperville, IL 60540 http://www.naperville.il.us/ Meeting Minutes - Final Wednesday, November 13, 2024 6:30 PM NEU Sister Cities Commission Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 13, 2024 A. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Mani called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. B. ROLL CALL: Present 11 - Tony Chamberlain, Becky Rudolph, Allison Longenbaugh, Yugin Wang, Neelam Saboo, Daniel Bukowski, Ganesh Kar, Arun Mani, Navya Shah, Elin Amundson, and Abdechafi Boubkir C. PUBLIC FORUM: Public Forum - Speaker Lauren Reyes-Yu Lauren is a resident of Naperville has attended Sister Cities meetings as well as other board meetings. She's interested in joining one of the city's boards or commissions in the future. D. OLD BUSINESS: E. REPORTS: 1. Welcome newly appointed Sister Cities Commissioner and Student Representatives Sister Cities Chair, Arun Mani welcomed our newly appointed Sister Cities Commissioner, Abdechafi "Chafi" Boubkir and student representatives Elin Amundson and Navya Shah. 2. Approve the Sister Cities Commission meeting minutes of August 14, 2024 A motion was made by Chairman Rudolph, seconded by Chairman Chamberlain, motion passed by voice vote. 3. Update on contact and connections with Nitra, Cancun, and Patzcuaro Commissioners provided an update on our current Sister Cities. Nitra: Commissioners Chamberlain announced that Rosemary Wisnowski will speak at the Naperville Public Library on January 16th. Commissioners Bukowski and Chamberlain attended a Slovakian picnic. They group has chapters in Chicago and San Francisco. In an effort to continue making connections, Commissioner Bukowski reached out to a Dean at Constatine the Philosopher University and will report back. Cancun Update provide by Chairman Mani and Commissioner Wang: The Mayor received an invitation to Cancun World Fest. Commissioners discussed the costs associated to attending. Staff suggested Commissioners Kar and Saboo reach out to the foundation about possible fundraising City of Naperville Page 1 Printed on 4/3/2025 Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 13, 2024 opportunities to support efforts to attend the fest in the future. Chairman Mani said there are several items to consider, such as; costs for a booth, travel and other expenditures. Staff reported that they may have a lead on a contact in Patzcuaro, and will report back if they were able to make that connection. A motion was made by Commissioner Wang and seconded by Commissioner Bukowski to receive the update report on Nitra, Cancun and Patzcuaro. Motion passed by voice vote. This Report was received. 4. Receive the update on Sister Cities Commission activities with the Naperville Public Library Rosemary Wisnowski will give a Presentation on January 16th on the relationship between Nitra and the City of Naperville. Commissioner Rudolph suggests that the City posts to their social media account about the upcoming event. A motion was made by Commissioner Bukowski, seconded by Chamberlain to receive the update on Sister Cities Commission activities with the Naperville Public Library. Motion passed by Voice Vote. 5. Receive the report on opportunities for the Sister Cities Commission to engage in trade, education, arts and culture Chairman Mani outlined three key groups for classification purposes: Trade, Education, and Culture. Each category will have one commission serving as a liaison, with two commissioners working on Nitra, Pazcuara, and Cancun. When you sign up to one of these groups, your job will be to work internally with Naperville and identify these opportunities. For trade, the focus is on the I88 Corridor and leveraging Sister City connections. Community engagement is also a priority, with plans to raise awareness about Sister Cities in School Districts 203 & 204. Our student representatives will be helpful in this area. Commissioner Boubkir volunteered for the Education Group and Staff will help with providing contacts with our school districts. Chairman Mani suggested Commissioner Boubkir lead the Education Committee. Formal communications will be handled by professional staff, specifically the Mayor's Office. Student Representative, Navya Shah raised questions about social media City of Naperville Page 2 Printed on 4/3/2025 Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 13, 2024 strategies and our current presence. Staff stated that the City has a full Communications team that runs our social media and there is an opportunity to enhance the presence of Sister Cities activity on the city's social media across all channels. Staff will schedule a meeting for our student representatives to meet with our Communications Staff. Navya would like to write articles and blog to promote the groups work. Chairman Mani suggested that our student representatives write posts and run it through Communications to publish that information. Marcie emphasized students connect with all commission activities and tapping into meetings for broader engagement. Student Representative Shah asked about Public Art and if we have considered virtual or online media to display art. The usage of internet does widely spread, we could get a lot of culture and art through mixed media; paintings, writings through a virtual exhibit. Keeping and online exhibit would not require a lot of active engagement. Commissioner Rudolph asked about the parameters around the categories and staff responded that our mission is tied to our three current Sister Cities. Becky volunteered for Arts & Culture but would like some feedback on what that should include. Staff stated that once connections are made with our sister cities that the liaisons can come back and say, this is what we need from a Naperville perspective. A motion was made by Commissioner Chamberlain, seconded by Commissioner Bukowski to receive the report on opportunities for Sister Cities to engage in trade, education, arts and culture. This Report was received. Motion passed by voice vote. 6. Discuss and approve the 2024 Sister Cities Commission annual report Staff prepared the Sister Cities annual report and Staff praised the work that City of Naperville Page 3 Printed on 4/3/2025 Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 13, 2024 Commissioners have done this year adding Commissioners should be proud of themselves for the work they have done. A motion was made by Commissioner Chamberlain, seconded by Commissioner Bukowski to approve the 2024 Sister Cities Commission annual report. Motion passed by voice vote. 7. Approve the Sister Cities meeting schedule for the 2025 calendar year General board meetings are held quarterly on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. 2025 MEETING DATES: February 12 May 14 August 13 November 12 A motion was made by Commissioner Chamberlain, seconded by Commissioner Bukowski to approve the 2025 Meeting Schedule as presented with one amendment, adding the January 16, 2025 Special Presentation to the calendar. 8. Receive the Sister Cities calendar items of past and present events Motion by Chamberlain, Seconded by Bukowski to receive the Sister Cities calendar as presented and adding the January 16th Presentation by Rosemary Wisnowski. Motion passed by Voice Vote. 9. Receive Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA) refresher training presentation Staff provided Commissioners with a refresher on FOIA and Open Meetings Act training covering a number of topics. As part of the requirement for board members and commissioners is to take the state's FOIA and OMA training when they are newly appointed. Staff stressed that transparency is key in our meetings; we are inviting the public into our meetings. Staff also reminded commissioners that a majority of a quorum for Sister Cities is three members. Anytime three or more commissioners meet, we are required to post the meeting for the public. F. NEW BUSINESS: G. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Commissioner Wang, seconded by Commissioner Chamberlain to adjourn the Sister Cities Meeting at 8:01 p.m. The motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote. City of Naperville Page 4 Printed on 4/3/2025 Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 13, 2024 /s/ Rachel Pruneda Rachel Pruneda Assistant to the Mayor City of Naperville Page 5 Printed on 4/3/2025