Ogden Community Engagement and Opportunity Commission

Meeting Minutes Ogden Diversity Commission Zoom Meeting WEDNESDAY, January 13th, 2021 – 1:00 PM In Attendance: Stacy Bernal, Kathie Darby, Kye Hallows, Christine Ipsen, Betty Sawyer, Jeremy Shinoda, Roger Snow, Tom Szalay, Iveth Vazquez, Adrienne Andrews, Taylor Knuth Ogden City Staff Present: Viviana Felix, 1. Welcome. 2. Roll Call. 2.1. Approval of minutes from 11/18/2020. (Motion made by Commissioner Hallows. Seconded by Commissioner Darby.) 2.2. Approval of minutes from 12/9/2020. (Motion made by Commissioner Shinoda. Seconded by Commissioner Sawyer). 3. New Business. 3.1. Commissioner Check-in (Chair Knuth – 10 mins). a. Commissioners shared thoughts and feelings in regard to the current climate of the country and events that happened last week at the nation’s capitol building. b. Commissioner Szalay expressed that the commission needs to release a statement on the events that occurred last week and where we stand as a body. In addition, he is concerned about the safety of the individuals in our video series and commissioners. 3.2. MAKE Ogden (Brandon Cooper – 30 mins). a. Mr. Brandon Cooper introduced himself and his role with Ogden City. b. Mr. Cooper went through the different phases of developing the Downtown Ogden Master Plan and the purpose of planning for the area. 1|Page  c. Mr. Cooper explained the process of community input process in 2019 for understanding opportunities and challenges. d. Mr. Cooper reviewed data to the survey questions and responses that were a part of the community input phase. In addition, he discussed the project approach and top themes out of the community input. e. The city is underway in episode 1 of the planning process includes strengthening Historic 25th street; provide a balance of housing, jobs, parking, retail and services; infill large vacant parcels. Episode 2 will also be in the works including adding 900 housing units, 1,680 jobs, 300 hospitality rooms, 120k sf of retail/service, 1,600 parking spaces. f. Commissioner Szalay asked about housing spaced owned by the city and how the city manages the property. Mr. Cooper said that the city does not lease property, instead they sell to potential homeowners. g. Commissioner Szalay also asked about low-income housing. Mr. Cooper explained what is being done in the community development area by Mr. Ward Ogden who has been looking at this topic for the last 30 years. h. Commissioner Snow inquired about the employment opportunities that would be available with the plan. Mr. Cooper explained that Ogden downtown is an ideal location for aerospace, tech services, financial industry, and IRS. i. Commissioner Darby expressed that she has concerns with the would affordability, people use it and it doesn’t actually reflect that. She also asked for information on what the city does to guarantee housing to people with disabilities. Mr. Cooper mentioned some processes in place to help people be able to live in places that are newer but qualify base on income. 3.3. Joint Meeting with Marshall White Advisory Board, January 20th @ 4pm, virtual (Viviana – 5 mins). a. Viviana explained the process of obtaining a joint meeting with the Marshall White Advisory Committee and asked if there are any topics the Commission would like to discuss on top of an update for Marshal White Center plans. 2|Page  b. Commissioner Sawyer asked for an update on the YWCA in Ogden and their plans. Viviana mentioned that there is a YWCA member on the advisory committee and that these questions can be posed to the individual at the meeting. c. Viviana explained that there is a survey being prepared for public input on the future plans for the Marshall White Center. She will ask for a copy of the questions in preparation for the joint meeting next week. 3.4. Nominating Committee Process (Viviana – 5 mins). a. Nominating Committee will start their work again. Applications are coming in a long with check in with folks who submitted their application last year after our deadline for the second round of interviews. Viviana will also check in with nominating committee to start the process. 4. Old Business. 4.1. Rules Committee Update (Commissioner Darby – 10 mins). a. The committee has set a meeting time and date will continue to meet to address and update the needs on the documents. 4.2. Community Conversation Committee Update (Vice Chair Andrews – 10 mins). a. Vice Chair Andrews expressed she has not connected with Commissioner Snow and Commissioner Sawyer on the topic of Racism as a Public Health Crisis. She apologized and will find time to do this. She also expressed needing to check in with the new Chief of Police Eric Young about participating in the community conversation in January. b. Diana Lopez communicated that she had spoken to Chief Young and he confirmed his participation at the community conversation on January 28th. c. Viviana is working on marketing materials and will get an invitation out to the commissioners by the end of the week. 4.3. Outreach Committee Video Series Update (Commissioner Shinoda – 10 mins). a. Commissioner Szalay repeated some of his concerns shared earlier with the commission on the video series. b. Vice Chair Andrews said to reach out to individuals and check in with them to see if they are comfortable with us continuing to share. 3|Page  c. Commissioner Snow supported Vice Chair Andrews continuing to say we shouldn’t put all of our attention on the negative people. He acknowledges the events and believes that we should show support to our community. d. Viviana will connect with the individuals whose videos who have not been released to check in. She will also reach out to individuals who videos have already been shared. e. Chair Knuth reiterated that there is pain in our community, and we need to acknowledge that and recommit. f. Commissioner Bernal expressed that we must acknowledge the bad and highlight the good. We have negative people in our community, and we need to be aware of them and their actions. 4.4. Racial Equity in Policing Committee Update (Commissioner Sawyer – 10 mins). a. Commissioner Sawyer has not reconvened the group yet. She thanked those members who participated in the city council meeting last night with the confirmation of new Police Chief Eric Young. b. Commissioner Sawyer provided context for people who were not present at the City Council meeting last night. She also mentioned that Council member Nodalski motioned to create a public input process when it comes to appointing positions. c. Chair Knuth reminded everyone that they are able to speak on the record and on public matters as long as they are not representing the Diversity Commission. 5. No Action Required. 6. Comments: 6.1. Commission Staff. a. Viviana thanked everyone for showing up and participating in the meeting today. 6.2. Commission Members. a. Commissioner Sawyer shared events happening for MLK next week. b. Commissioner Szalay encouraged people to share ideas with him on how to continue community outreach. 4|Page  6.3. Public Comment: a. Alicia Washington – thanked everyone for their continued efforts. b. Diana Lopez – expressed that Chief Young wants to continue to engage in conversations and plans to be at the next commission meeting. Ms. Lopez also mentioned that former Sargent John Thomas is in charge of recruitment for the department. Chair Knuth offered the commission as a resource as Chief Eric Young steps into his new role. 7. Adjournment. (Motion made by Commissioner Sawyer. Seconded by Commissioner Shinoda). NEXT REGULAR OGDEN DIVERSITY COMMISSION MEETING WEDNESDAY, February 10th, 2021 Virtual Meeting Minutes prepared by: Minutes approved by: Date: _______________________________ _______________________________ 3/4/2021 __________________________ Viviana Felix – Ogden City Taylor Knuth, Chair 5|Page