Community Relations Commission

1 Minutes of a Meeting of the 2 Northbrook Community Relations Commission 3 Sister Cities Subcommittee 4 Wednesday, January 14, 2015 5 6 Present: Chair Bruce Doughty, Commissioner Dale Duda, Member Brandon 7 Bayzaee 8 9 Absent: Commissioners Safa Hamed and Elliot Bruckman, Member Gerri Kirby 10 11 Also Present: Village Staff Liaison Michael Strong 12 13 Place: Northbrook Public Library, Study Room 2. 14 15 16 Chair Doughty called the meeting to order at approximately 7:00 p.m. He welcomed 17 everyone, and then provided an overview for the meeting. 18 19 Youth Participation 20 21 Chair Doughty welcomed Brandon Bayzaee, a GBN sophomore who is joining the 22 Subcommittee as a youth member. Member Bayzaee shared some of his background, 23 including his participation on the GBN basketball team. Chair Doughty noted that 24 another GBN sophomore, Yasemin Kahn, is also planning to join the Subcommittee, but 25 was unable to attend this particular meeting. Chair Doughty also mentioned that a third 26 GBN student had expressed some initial interest, but he had not heard back from her 27 yet. Chair Doughty discussed some of the ways in which Member Bayzaee could help by 28 bringing his particular perspectives to the Subcommittee. 29 30 Identification and Evaluation of Candidate Cities 31 32 Chair Doughty noted that the Subcommittee would be discussing a strategy to identify 33 candidate cities. The Subcommittee identified various sources for finding potential 34 cities, including Sister Cities International and residents of Northbrook. The 35 Subcommittee then discussed ways to create awareness among residents in order to 36 obtain their input in this process. Those methods included publicity through the local 37 press, the Village newsletter, the houses of worship, and the schools (including the GBN 38 newspaper). The Subcommittee also reviewed a draft description of the candidate search 39 that could be used in the publicity. The Subcommittee agreed that the content and 40 relative brevity of the draft were appropriate, and that the Subcommittee should work 41 with Cheryl Fayne-dePersio of the Village in refining the draft. 42 43 The Subcommittee next turned to discussing criteria for evaluating potential candidates. 44 Those criteria included size comparable to Northbrook’s, governmental support and level 45 of involvement, location (especially for visits), and opportunities for exchange. 46 Regarding potential opportunities, the Subcommittee identified artistic, culinary,  Minutes of a Meeting of the Sister Cities Subcommittee January 14, 2015 47 educational, and youth-focused activities. Member Bayzaee noted areas in which he 48 thought youth might be particularly interested, such as sports, culture, day-to-day living, 49 and technology. 50 51 Liaison Strong inquired about the process for developing an actual program for 52 Northbrook. Chair Doughty reviewed the research on other programs done to date, the 53 plan to create a proposed structure for Northbrook based on that research and 54 Northbrook’s particular factors, and the sequencing of bringing that structure to the 55 Commission and then to the Board simultaneously with a proposed sister city. Liaison 56 Strong suggested developing the proposed structure earlier, before candidate cities were 57 sought and one was chosen, as such sequencing would facilitate work with the Village. 58 The Subcommittee discussed and then adopted that revised ordering, with Chair Doughty 59 taking the lead in developing the proposed structure over the next few months. Liaison 60 Strong shared some material that he had printed off the internet, and volunteered to 61 procure additional information on other programs to assist the Subcommittee’s efforts in 62 developing a structure. 63 64 Miscellaneous 65 66 Chair Doughty noted that Carol Wolfe, who is president of Highland Park's Sister Cities 67 program, did not attend the January Commission meeting, as the weather was prohibitive. 68 Ms. Wolfe has agreed to join another meeting in the near future. 69 70 Next Meeting 71 72 The Subcommittee agreed to meet next on February 12, 2015. 73 74 Adjournment 75 76 The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:00 p.m. 77 78 79 Respectfully submitted, 80 81 Bruce Doughty 82 Chair, Sister Cities Subcommittee 2