CommUNITY Alliance

STERLING HEIGHTS CommUNITY Alliance Minutes of Wednesday, March 16 , 2022 Meeting Location: City Hall Members Present: Stacy Bahri, Cindy Bjornson, Tim Doppel, Ricardo Harris and Sarah Itoh Members Absent: Nakia Powell-Thomas and Richard Rubba Representing the City: Melanie Davis, Library Director Tammy Turgeon Meeting called to order at 6 :01 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES : Motion to approve the meeting minutes of the Feb. 16, 2022 CommUNITY Alliance made by T. Doppel; Seconded by: S. Bahri and voted all in favor. AGENDA ITEMS: A. Elections – In light of the recent resignation of Lea Mitchell, the group held elections for Chair. T. Doppel moved to elect S. Bahri as the chair; R. Harris seconded the motion. The motion was approved all in favor. As S. Bahri was moving from the Vice Chair to the Chair position, the group held elections for Vice Chair. T. Doppel moved to elect R. Harris as the vice chair; S. Bahri seconded the motion. The motion was approved all in favor. B. Presentation by Library Director Tammy Turgeon – Turgeon discussed a new proposed library art project featuring a mandala design. Because this design is often used in the Buddhist religion, she wanted feedback from Alliance members on whether use of a mandala in the library would be considered cultural appropriation. The group discussed the fact that there would be no monetization involved and mandalas are present in many places, it feels more like cultural appreciation than appropriation. However, they acknowledged they could not speak for the Buddhist community and recommended she seek additional feedback from the local Buddhist Temple which she is already planning to do. Alliance members also recommended that signage be added to the artwork explaining what it is and how it is used in the Buddhist community as a way of educating the public. They all agreed that it was a positive thing that staff were even  asking the question and seeking feedback before indiscriminately putting the artwork up. C. Assign Strategic Plan Tactics – a good deal of time was spent on assigning Alliance members to certain objectives so that they can then address the tactics to help achieve those goals. A couple ideas were generated during the discussion, for example, creating an annual “clergy forum” type event for residents with physical limitations in order to provide a social and networking opportunity for them. M. Davis will update the Strategic Plan with these assignments and redistribute to the group along with the current Alliance roster so group members can communicate with each other between meetings to keep moving the plan forward. OLD BUSINESS: A. M. Davis mentioned to the group that the Sterling Edge Awards are being pushed to the fall, so if the group wanted to award someone for their work in unifying the community, we still have time to do so. B. M. Davis noted the community members who are collecting petition signatures to require the City to place the new human rights ordinance city council recently passed on a ballot. C. M. Davis noted information about a recent resident with a physical disability who is interested in volunteering for CommUNITY Alliance efforts. She has placed him on the volunteer list which she’ll make available to the group when they are ready to seek help from other residents outside the commission. NEW BUSINESS : A. The group spend some time reviewing a draft document of the diversity assessment checklist we can use for events and programs moving forward. The group provided some feedback to the draft, and S. Bahri suggested that in addition to assessing current events, we may want to consider hosting an event specifically for those with physical limitations in the future. ADJOURNMENT : The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. on a motion from T. Doppel seconded by R. Harris and voted all in favor.