Community Relations Commission

APPROVED MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS April 5, 2012 The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m., in the Civic Room, at the Northbrook Public Library, by Chair Ray Wehr. Members Present: Bruce Doughty, Scott Gertz, Linda Goldsher, Sue Huang, Jim Hyun, Kamyar Jabbari, Bob Lozaro, Ron Mantegna, Rochelle Singer, Nancy Stoddard, and Chair Wehr. Also Present: Liaison Jason Batalden, and Recording Secretary LeeAnn Artstein. Excused Members: Dale Duda and Chris Kosla. Welcome Chair Wehr welcomed everyone to the meeting. Approval of the March 1, 2012 CRC Meeting Minutes The following items were changed: Page 1, last sentence of Asian Heritage Celebration section, change to “He provided a list of some of the expenses…” Page 3, New Business, 2nd para., 3d line, change “second” to “suitable”. Page 3, New Business, 2nd para., 4th line, change “framework” to “frame”. Page 3, Eyes & Ears on the Street, 6th bullet, change “Asian advisory council in Cook County”, to Asian Advisory Council for the government of Cook County.” Member Doughty made a motion to approve the minutes with the changes, and it was seconded by Member Lozaro. On voice vote, the motion passed. Asian Heritage Celebration Planning Update (Theme: Taste of Asia—A Celebration of Asian American Heritage) May 6 (Panel Discussion—The Role of Korean Women, Past and Future in America) April 30 Member Huang went over the plans for the April 30 panel discussion, at the Northbrook Public Library Auditorium, at 7 pm. Professor Kyu Park from Northeastern Ill. University will introduce the panel discussions for Korean Women in America. The Korean Women’s Choir will sing. The Library made flyers and posters for the event. Member Hyun will ask the Library to extend the closing time for the event. Village Communications Mgr., Cheryl Fayne de-Persio, has been doing publicity for the event which includes a press release to the local media. Member Huang asked everyone on the commission to help spread the word for the event. Refreshments will be served courtesy of Sunset Foods. The May 6 event, 1 – 4 pm, at the North Suburban YMCA, 2705 Techny Rd., will have a cultural mix which will be fun and entertaining. Members Huang and Hyun will MC the event. Five food vendors will serve Chinese, Korean, Thai, Filipino and Russian food, and will be set up in the ABC room. The Arts and Artifacts Displays, consisting of approximately 12 vendors, will be set up in the ABC room and in the hallways. The displays will include hand puppets from Sue Huang’s personal collection and handmade Bangladeshi jewelry by Nafisa Choudhury. The performance program will be held in the Gym and will include music, singing, dancing, storytelling, Indian Bollywood, and a Bangladeshi Folk Tale by Arif Choudhury. The International Club at Maple School plans to participate. Trivia Challenge will be going on throughout the event with prizes that were donated. Member Huang made a psa for Channel 17. The Village, the Y, Allstate and some Asian organizations will provide publicity, including social networking. Member Lozaro asked for everyone’s support in promoting the event. Any volunteers who can help out, please contact Member Huang. Senior Services/CRC Subcommittee Update Member Mantegna reported that the final draft has been approved by both commissions and formatted by Cheryl Fayne de-Persio for the May Village newsletter and the Village website. The survey will also be distributed by the houses of worship and the Chamber of Commerce. The survey time frame will be May 1 – June 15. Liaison Batalden will be the Village contact for any questions that may arise. Once the Village collects the survey responses, the Senior Services Commission will compile the responses and write a white paper summarizing the results of the survey. The survey summary along with our recommendations and comments will be given to President Sandy Frum. Member Lozaro thanked everyone who worked on the project for doing a great job. WTN/Flamingo Friday Planning Update Member Duda was not present at tonight’s meeting. Member Gertz gave a brief report of the most recent subcommittee planning for the combined event which is set for Friday, May 18, 5:30 – 7 pm, to take place in front of the Village Hall. Member Duda has secured Sunset Foods for hot dogs and the popcorn truck. Member Stoddard reported that representatives from the North Suburban YMCA, the Northbrook Public Library, the Northbrook Park District, and the Northbrook Police Department will be attending. Member Kosla is checking to see if the Fire Department will participate. Liaison Batalden and Village Communications Mgr. Cheryl Fayne de-Persio are working on publicity. Members Duda and Gertz will work on finalizing the postcards that will be sent out two weeks before the event. Member Gertz will have subcommittee minutes available at the next commission meeting. Member Gertz discussed a small budget for the combined event to have available in case it was needed. An itemized list would be submitted to the commission for any purchased items that would be needed. Member Lozaro made a motion to approve a budget for the WTN/Flamingo Friday event, to include the purchase of extra flamingos, in an amount not to exceed $300. It was seconded by Member Singer. Seeing no further discussion, on voice vote, the motion passed. News from Clergy Association and Houses of Worship Member Goldsher reported that the clergy met on March 7, and the following were discussed: Member Goldsher publicized the upcoming Asian Heritage Celebration event. Member Lozaro was present and explained the new survey for Northbrook seniors. He asked the clergy to help get the word out to senior congregants to participate in the survey. Amanda Jacobs from the Northbrook Tower newspaper was there to promote the paper. Northbrook United Methodist Church celebrated Earth Hours on March 31, a world wide effort to conserve energy. Education Under Fire informed everyone how the Bahai worshipers in Iran are persecuted and not allowed to register for higher education. Our Lady of the Brook asked the Clergy Association to sponsor Professor Amy Jill Levine, to come and speak about the New Testament from a Jewish point of view. Prayers for Father Ed Herberger, from Techny Towers, who recently passed away The Clergy Association is looking for a new clergy president for next year The next Clergy Association meeting will be in May, not in April due to the Holidays. News from Schools There were no reports from the schools. Member Hyun spoke of School Dist. 31’s tax increase referendum that won by 333 votes. He thanked Member Mantegna, who was the first one to congratulate 2 him on the victory. He thanked Member Mantegna and others in District 31 who listened to the issues and voted for a permanent solution to save the schools. Old Business There was no old business to report. New Business a. Commission Opening Chair Wehr announced with a sad heart that Member Sheila Bass has decided to retire her commission due to other commitments. Chair Wehr, Member Singer and Liaison Batalden will be working on a proclamation that will be presented to Member Bass at an upcoming Village Board meeting. As a result, the CRC has a commission opening. See Liaison Batalden if you know of a replacement. Member Gertz stated that Member Bass is our ranking member. We owe her a debt of gratitude for bringing the Black History month event to fruition. Her expertise on that event will be missed. The entire commission wished her the best and will miss her. Chair Wehr is pleased to announce that the Village Board will recommend the re-appointment for another term the following CRC Commissioners: Members Linda Goldsher, Susan Huang and Rochelle Singer. It was noted there is a new State of Illinois Open Meeting Act that was passed on January 1, 2012. Anyone serving on a government commission, either appointed or assigned, will be required to take a training session on the Ill. Atty. General website. The Village will provide us with the necessary details. Eyes & Ears on the Street St. Norbert’s annual Whale of a Sale event, May 18, 6-9pm, May 19, 8-2pm & May 20, 8-12pm. St. Norbert’s annual Block Party, that is part of Northbrook 9, on Sat., June 9. Village Presbyterian Church’s annual pancake breakfast on March 3 went very well. School District 225 production of Phantom of the Opera set for May 2, 3, 4 & 5, at GBN. Member Hyun hosted a political fundraising event for Elaine Nekritz. Bill Kirkpatrick, a well-deserving community person recently won $1 million. Volunteers for the Hunger Resource Event called Community Outreach Day, held on March 24 at Whole Foods, helped distribute 60,000 lbs. of frozen chicken, etc., to area food banks. Earth Day, April 21, posters are available to take to houses of worship. Collin Wehr is one of the Wish Ambassadors for the annual Make a Wish Foundation Ball at the UIC Pavillon, which will be hosted by comic David Spade. Collin will be wearing black tie to the event where they will be featuring his NFL video. Next Meeting – May 3, 2012 The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 3, 2012. Adjournment At 8:12 pm, Member Gertz made a motion to adjourn, and it was seconded by Member Singer. On voice vote, the motion passed. Respectfully Submitted, /s/LeeAnn Artstein Recording Secretary 3