Ogden Community Engagement and Opportunity Commission

Meeting Minutes Ogden Diversity Commission Zoom Meeting WEDNESDAY, June 10th, 2020 – 1:00 PM In Attendance: Stacy Bernal, Kathie Darby, Wesley Boykin, Tom Szalay, Jeremy Shinoda, Taylor Knuth, Kye Hallows, Betty Sawyer Excused: Adrienne Andrews Ogden City Staff Present: Viviana Felix, 1. Welcome. 2. Roll Call. 2.1. Approval of minutes from 5/13/2020. (Commissioner Hallows motioned to approve the minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Boykin. Motion passes). 3. New Business. 3.1. Commissioner Check-in (Chair Knuth). a. Chair Knuth thanked the commission for selecting him as the new chair. Chair Knuth also expressed what he would like to get out of his year as chair with the commission. b. Chair Knuth shared some promises that he would like to be held accountable to. He will also share these in an email after the meeting. Wants to make sure that the meetings are safe and brave spaces, if a commissioner feels unable to speak, share or participate in a meeting please inform Chair Knuth, Vice Chair Andrews and Viviana. 1|Page c. Chair Knuth may call on people to share thoughts on different topics, if this makes you uncomfortable please feel free to say you have no thoughts to share at the time. d. Chair Knuth would also like to be responsive to critical feedback from each of the commissioners to that end he prefers critical feedback in the moment, if Chair Knuth says or does something you do not agree with please address it at that time. However, he acknowledges that not everyone may feel comfortable doing it this way. e. Chair Knuth wants the commission to be transparent with City Council, the Mayor and the community as a whole. Chair Knuth asks that all commissioner’s help keep the commission accountable. f. Chair Knuth would like to be a good listener and be responsive to commissioners g. Chair Knuth promises to rock the boat, but do it in a way that keeps everyone in the boat and moving towards a positive direction. h. Chair Knuth proposed changes to the structure of the meetings. Start with land acknowledgement and indigenous people. Requests that guest and commissioners introduce themselves with preferred gender pronouns and respect these in our interactions. Individuals that come from a place of privilege should refrain from interrupting, talking over or mansplaining. Try our best in accommodating working people’s work schedule whether it be in functional committee meetings or regular meetings. Finally, Chair Knuth would like the commission to use people first language, an example: rather than say a “homeless person” we use language such as a “person experiencing homeless.” Put the person first not the disability. Reframe from generalizations from any group. Some members of the commission may identify with different underserved and marginalized groups however not all experiences are the same and members should not have to speak for an entire group. Do our best to see perspectives of different groups that are represented in our community. i. Chair Knuth acknowledged the Shoshone land the commission meeting is being conducted on. 2|Page  j. Chair Knuth asked that the group go around and introduce themselves by saying their name, preferred gender pronouns and if comfortable sharing an experience given the current state our community with race movements and a global pandemic. k. Commissioners and Viviana all shared. 3.2. Diversity Commission Communication to Outside Community (Chair Knuth). a. Feedback from the one-on-one’s with commissioners stated that the commission needs to be more vocal on issues impacting our community. Communication to our community needs to happen more often and publicly. Chair Knuth and Vice Chair Andrews will begin a quarterly communication piece talking about the state of diversity affairs in our city. First communication will probably go out in late July and will contain information on current events and information as it relates to diversity. This will be shared via social media and the commission’s webpage, press release, and make use of the city’s resources such as the community connection magazine. b. Commissioner Szalay has skills that can help with InDesign to have this information available in coffee shops and other places. c. Mara Brown would like the commission to establish a process for content. Chair Knuth will make sure we connect with Mara and Viviana. 3.3. Community Conversation Committee (Vice Chair Andrews). a. Viviana presented on behalf of Vice Chair Andrews. The outline for the community conversations was reviewed. b. Viviana will make a template out of the community conversation committee outline for other functional committees to use as we are creating these. It will provide direction as well as help in the reporting process. 3.4. Communication to Chief Watt, Regarding Officer Lyday (Chair Knuth). a. A letter of hear felt condolences was sent to Ogden Police Department and Chief Randy Watt. Viviana read the letter that was sent. 3|Page  3.5. Poverty Committee (Commissioner Darby). a. Commissioner Darby reached out to current member that are on the committee to talk about virtual meetings and identify next steps. Waiting to hear back from Rev. Monica Hall. The committee is in current need of more members- Commissioner Szalay would like to join the committee. 3.6. City Council Letter – Communication with Spanish Speaking Residents (Chair Knuth). a. Chair Knuth reviewed the letter with recommendations that was sent to City Council. b. Commissioner Szalay asked if the recommendation took in mind other languages such as Arabic. Viviana said the letter specifically asked for recommendation for Spanish speakers, however this is a great stepping stone for other languages to be considered in the future. c. Commissioner Boykin mentioned that there is an increase in different languages across the county and may want to take that into consideration. Chair Knuth said that it would be wise for the city to contract with an agencies that can translate in more languages than just Spanish. 3.7. Virtual Planning Retreat (Viviana). a. Viviana sent out a calendar invite. Please let her know if you didn’t receive the invitation. Chair Knuth asked if we could have the meeting in person. b. Viviana will touch base with the commission at the end of the month to see if we still feel comfortable having it online or if we would like to move it to in person. 4. Old Business. 4.1. Recap of Office of Multicultural Affair Report and Next Steps (Chair Knuth). a. Taskforce meets twice a week and is focused on language and accessibility for marginalized and vulnerable communities in Ogden. Organizations like Midtown, Weber-Morgan Health Department and Intermountain have partnered to translate information on PPE information. The group is also coordinating with WSU Community Education Center to help distribute PPE equipment that will be passed out in high traffic areas where Hispanic and Latinx individuals gather. 4.2. Nominating Committee Open Application Process (Viviana). 4|Page  a. Viviana will continue the appointment process which consists of getting the mayor’s approval and then city council’s consent before the new members are official. 4.3. NAACP Letter Requesting Support for the Marshall White Center (Commissioner Sawyer). a. Commissioner Sawyer was excused. Viviana has not yet transmitted the letter on the Marshall White Center as she was hoping to coordinate with the NAACP so that the letters could be delivered simultaneously. Did not hear back but will move forward with sending the letter by the end of the week. 5. No Action Required. 5.1. Outreach Committee (Commissioner Shinoda). a. Commissioner Shinoda will work on the outline for the committee. 5.2. Latino Soccer Leagues Conversations (Viviana). 6. Comments: 6.1. Commission Staff. a. Mara Brown wanted to inform the commission that there was a GRAMA (Government Records Access and Management Act) request to the city to obtain the video recording from the zoom meeting last month. The city is putting a virtual meeting policy before they release the video that will go out in a press release. 6.2. Commission Members. a. Commissioner Sawyer – got off a meeting on police reform with Ogden City. Discussed having a joint media event to share information from this meeting. Projects Success has setup a COVID-19 mobile test clinic in June and July to get as many people tested. Commissioner Sawyer would also like to get sponsorship for the Juneteenth. The third Saturday in September is reserved for Juneteenth celebration. b. Commissioner Hallows – is working on complying a list of organization in Ogden and northern Utah. Their current business is doing grab bags where they give money to local organizations. 5|Page  c. Commissioner Shinoda – will be attending a meeting with President Mortenson today. d. Commissioner Darby – attended the Interfaith meeting they would like someone from the commission to speak. Pedestrian taskforce with Weber-Morgan Health Department looking for another member of the commission to participate. Weber County Sheriff Department asked to have a meeting with the community, get in touch with Commissioner Darby for more details. e. Commissioner Bernal – working with Viviana on an idea to create a course or class that the community can participate in to get a better idea of what it means to serve on a committee, board or commission. f. Commissioner Boykin – would like to work with Viviana and Commissioner Bernal on their idea. He has data and information to help with that. Informed the commission on a data that the census has collected on the 2020 Census during COVID-19. 6.3. Public Comment: a. Marcy Rizzi – asked about how the community can get involved with the Diversity Commission. Marcy also has a book club happening. Friends of Booked on 25th is the book club discussing white privilege. b. Antonio Cruz Martinez – expressed concern with COVID-19 information and wants to help change the narrative on this issue. 7. Adjournment. (Commissioner Darby motioned to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Sawyer. Motion passes). NEXT REGULAR OGDEN DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING WEDNESDAY, July 8th, 2020 Virtual Meeting Minutes prepared by: Minutes approved by: Date: _______________________________ _______________________________ 3/4/2021 __________________________ Viviana Felix – Ogden City Taylor Knuth, Chair 6|Page