Ogden Community Engagement and Opportunity Commission

MINUTES Ogden Diversity Commission Virtual - Zoom WEDNESDAY, September 8th, 2021 – 4:30 PM In Attendance: Kathie Darby, Stacy Bernal, Jeremy Shinoda, Tom Szalay, Roger Snow, Shardae Jones, Iveth Vasquez, Kari Harbath, Christine Ipsen, Betty Sawyer Excused: Taylor Knuth Ogden City Staff present: CJ Hernandez, Mara Brown Recording Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/gtw35v3XmNjPcwMyEO8kpeoLWmqMAa0r3h2RXoTvp35J OtWANN2Tiiky07bmFneW.anE6X04KLTtfRcDX 1. Welcome. 2. Roll Call. 3. Approval of minutes from 4/14/2021, 5/12/2021, 6/9/2021 and 7/14/2021. a) Commissioner Darby motioned to approve all minutes. Commissioner Bernal seconded the motion. Approval of all minutes unanimously passed. 4. New Business. a) Welcoming of new commissioners - Chair Shinoda i) Chair Shinoda introduced Commissioner Kari Harbath and Commissioner Shardae Jones and welcomed them to the commission. They are both very excited to be a part of the commission. b) Current events in the community - Chair Shinoda i) Commissioner Snow reported that Catholic Community Services will be the contact for any Afghan related questions, issues, or volunteer opportunities  that come forth to the Commissioners. If Utah gets named as a host state, this organization will also be the point of contact. c) Ogden City Youth Council and Leadership Academy - Janene Eller-Smith and Ross Watkins i) Ogden City has created a Youth Council and Leadership Academy to get youth in the community involved with Ogden City and City Council. Ross Watkins in the council office will take this project over with coordination and outreach. Ross stated they are still in the outreach phase and have contacted all the high schools and junior high schools in the city boundaries (including charter and private schools). Currently they’ve had seven applications and the application process is closing next week. There are nine positions available on the council. All other applicants that do not make the council can be part of the leadership academy. He would appreciate the Commission’s help in getting the word out to the youth in the community. The application process is online on the City Council website. They have advertised this on Facebook, Instagram, and Linked In. They are looking for 9th through 12th graders who reside in Ogden. This program is to help youth learn about local government, give the city council input/advice on what youth want, and to get involved in service activities. They’d like to see representation from every school on the council. This group will be an advisory council to the City Council and will deal with real life issues that the City Council is currently discussing. The youth council will attend other city meetings, volunteer on projects like the elections, and they will be going on a tour of the capitol. ii) Janene Eller-Smith also talked about a full one-year scholarship that Ogden Weber Technical College would like to offer to a resident of Ogden and would like the Commission to be a part of that process and pick someone they think would benefit from this scholarship. The college would like to reward this by the end of the year. The Commission will give their recommendations to CJ to give to Janene.  d) Food Security Network – Alyson Williams i) Alyson Williams gave a presentation on the Food Security Network. The Food Security Network is a joint venture between Ogden Civic Action Network and the United Partnership Council to provide financial and other support for those struggling with hunger. The group is currently focused on helping Ogden’s east central residents to access, prepare, and eat nutritious food. ii) The Food Security Network is transitioning to a formalized Food Policy Council that will have 15 members chosen through an application process and will aim to serve as a public forum for discussing food issues, foster coordination between different sectors of the food system, evaluate and influence policies, as well as support programs and services that address local needs. This includes identifying opportunities for:  Improving access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food for all Ogden residents  Strengthening Ogden’s food economy by supporting local farmers, food workers, and food entrepreneurs The Council will be made up of a diverse group of individuals who represent all sectors of the food system, including but not limited to production, processing, distribution, retail, consumption, access, and nutrition. Applications will open on November 1st and close on November 30th. iii) Commissioner Darby asked how the public will get information to access the application and information. The main application is going to be online and advertised on social media. Paper applications in Spanish and English will also be shared with the community by health workers. iv) Commissioner Szalay asked if the 11 food deserts are defined by neighborhoods or if there was a map. Alyson will send a link to CJ with that map as the food assessment is tracked through the census. 5. Old Business. 6. Committee Reports Comments a) Outreach Committee Updates  i) Commissioner Szalay reported that the Pride Festival was successful. The outreach with the police during the Night Out Against Crime had great attendance as well as Representative Moore’s town hall meeting at the Marshall White Center. The Hispanic Festival is coming up on September 25 and the outreach committee would like some volunteers for that event. Commissioner Darby suggested having commissioners that speak Spanish attend. ii) Chair Shinoda thanked all the Commissioners who attended these events. He added that the Commission also attended Ogden High’s back to school night and of the article in Ogden’s Connection Magazine. Commissioner Szalay’s Juneteenth interviews were passed along to the Marshall White Advisory Committee and posted on our Facebook page. iii) Commissioner Szalay would like the Commission to create their own event to invite people to share their feelings and thoughts on diversity. Commissioner Sawyer agreed with having an event such as a town hall or a gathering to have a conversation with the community. Commissioner Szalay suggested the United Church of Christ building as a possible venue for an event. b) Town Hall Committee Updates i) Commissioner Knuth was excused from the meeting so there is no update. c) Rules Committee Update i) Commissioner Darby explained the purpose of the Rules Committee to the new members. This committee had put together some rules and commitments for the commission to look at and sent those to Mara to look over. These rules are on the shared drive folder, which CJ can give members access to if they don’t have it. Mara will have Anne-Marie Birk look over the document and provide feedback to the group. ii) Commissioner Ipsen asked if a document can be written up that names the committees, who is assigned, and the responsibilities of those committees for clarification to all members. Commissioner Darby agreed with this. d) Equity in Policing Committee Update i) Commissioner Sawyer wanted direction as to if the Community Conversation sub-committee was going to be disbanded. Commissioner Sawyer will put together her committees’ goals/objectives and give the information to CJ and the Commission so they can decide how to move forward with subcommittees. e) Commission staff i) CJ requested clarification on current sub-committees. She explained that the governing documents allow sub-committees to establish and disband following their usefulness. This will be discussed, and a decision will be made later. f) Commission members i) Commissioner Snow shared a presentation on the Equity and Inclusion program in Weber School District including charter schools and the Ogden- Weber Technical College. Commissioner Snow outlined the Latinos in Action group that has chapters across 17 schools in the county supporting first generation college students. He pointed out that the Commission could support family events, networking and helping others link to the district’s resources through its connections. ii) Commissioner Szalay has been appointed to the Equity Council for Ogden City School Districts and will collaborate with Commission Snow on his ideas and gather contacts in his circle. Commissioner Sawyer advised that there is a NAACP member that has been appointed to that council as well and she will give their contact information to Commissioner Szalay. Commissioner Sawyer mentioned that she recently joined the Weber School District’s Equity and Justice Committee. iii) Commissioner Bernal asked Commissioner Snow from an educator’s perspective what is being done to protect the rights of LGBTQ students. Commissioner Snow stated that there are groups such as the Gay Straight Alliance that have formed student groups in the schools. There is also  legislature funding to provide additional counselors in schools who are specific for mental health issues and that students may use to work through many issues. He stated that he will do further research on the issue and get back with Commissioner Bernal. iv) Commissioner Ipsen shared a presentation on rental assistance programs and referred the group to www.rentrelief.utah.gov. From March 15 - August 24, 2021, OWCAP provided $5 million in rental assistance to 2,378 households in Weber County alone. Either the landlord or tenant may apply for assistance and households may apply more than once. v) Commissioner Sawyer reported that the town hall meeting went well with a standing room only crowd. The Marshall White building rebuild drawings were at the meeting so the public could share their comments. Representative Moore shared some opportunities for potential funding for the rebuild. Commissioner Sawyer highlighted some of the questions from the crowd to include student loan forgiveness (not an entitlement but rather an incentive). She thanked the Diversity Commission for attending. Commissioner Jones asked if an email list could be created to get the word out to the community on these events. CJ stated that social media is a great platform to do this as well as the Connections Magazine that goes out every two months. If anyone has information for that magazine, please send that to CJ. vi) Chair Shinoda reported that the Martin Luther King Jr. license plate is available for purchase as of last week. He also stated that there is a mobile food pantry at DWS at 480 27th Street tomorrow, September 9th, from 12 to 1 and every second Thursday. On September 11th, there will be a vaccine event at Rancho Market on 747 Washington Blvd from 11 to 2. He also wanted to thank past Commissioners Andrews and Hallows for all their service on the Commission. vii) Commissioner Sawyer stated that the Commission did submit a letter regarding the Marshall White Center updates to the Mayor and City Council  and wanted to know where the city stands on that issue. She states that ARPA funding would be a great resource to use for these updates. She would like to know if the Commission can submit a request on behalf of the Community or if the city needs to do that. Chair Shinoda will find out if that infrastructure project would be eligible for ARPA funding. viii) Commissioner Szalay suggested going forward. 7. Public comment: This is an opportunity to address the Commission regarding concerns or ideas on any topic. To be considerate of everyone at this meeting, public comments will need to be submitted electronically, diversity@ogdencity.com or by calling 801-629-8109. Participants are to state their first and last name for the record. Comments will then be submitted for the record. 8. Adjournment. 10-14-2021 _______________________ ______________________________ 10/19/2021 CJ Hernandez Jeremy Shinoda, Chair Diversity Affairs Officer Ogden Diversity Commission