CommUNITY Alliance

STERLING HEIGHTS CommUNITY Alliance Minutes of Wednesday, April 19 , 2023 Meeting Location: Community Center Members Present: Stacy Bahri, Cindy Bjornson, Sandy DelVillano-Marchi, Tatrika Graphenreed, Michael Mazur, Nakia Powell-Thomas Members Absent: Rich Rubba Representing the City: Melanie Davis Meeting called to order at 6 :10 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES : Motion to approve the meeting minutes of the March 15, 2023 CommUNITY Alliance made by C. Bjornson; Seconded by T. Graphenreed and voted all in favor. AGENDA ITEMS: A. Group Bonding Exercise – N. Powell-Thomas ran the group through a bonding exercise called I Am, But, I Am Not where members shared a way they identify (black, female, LGBTQ+, etc.) and then shared a stereotype of that group that they are not. B. Recap – Human Library – C. Bjornson quickly recapped the Human Library event. M. Davis noted that we must complete an evaluation within 30 days of the event, so surveys have been sent to all books and readers to help gather feedback for that final evaluation that will be completed and submitted by the Public Library. Other suggestions shared from the group included that we should have one librarian per book for registration as well as a white board where we can visually manage what books are checked out, which are not, and when they will be available for the next reading. A suggestion was made to reach out to Jade Kruse next year in advance of the event, as they showed up hoping to participate as a book this year but had to be turned away as they had not gone through all the training required by the parent organization. C. Strategic Plan Updates a. New Resident Meet and Greet Event – M. Davis stated this event is confirmed for Tuesday, May 23 at Ike’s Restaurant. N. Powell-  Thomas agreed to put together a Bingo style networking game with a prize for the first one done to help attendees network with ease. M. Mazur also suggested having all attendees put on a name badge with an interesting fact about themselves to help start conversations. M. Davis mentioned we could target new residents via physical mail or post online and on social media and make it known it is intended for newer residents. The committee agreed it would be best to send mail, and M. Mazur, C. Bjornson and S. DelVillano-Marchi agreed to help get the mailing out. M. Davis will set up an EventBrite event with registration and send the invite out under the mayor’s signature. b. Pride Flag Raising Event –M. Davis confirmed this is scheduled for Thursday, June 1 (the first day of Pride Month and the first day of “Dodge Park Thursdays,” so all council should be there). She noted that this will be the third year we have held the ceremony, but we want to more widely publicize it this year. M. Davis will invite the media as well as make a FB event to promote and make Macomb Pride a co-host. C. Bjornson agreed to make brief remarks as a part of the ceremony along with the mayor. OLD BUSINESS: C. Bjornson noted that if we want to sit at a community resource table at Sterlingfest, we can purchase some of those visual impairment goggles to use for festival goers throughout the weekend. The group asked if we might be able to purchase some CommUNITY Alliance branded bags to hand out so that festival goers could use them to collect all the other stuff being handed out. M. Davis will look into this option. We also discussed being able to offer a city “suggestion box” at this table. NEW BUSINESS : M. Mazur brought a few new ideas to the group for discussion, and M. Davis noted these can be considered for the Strategic Plan update/revision work we’ll be doing. These ideas included:  A music night where each person plays a song they love (personal DJ).  An open mic event.  A monthly Dodge Park walk.  Some type of town hall or survey asking residents “What do you want from Sterling Heights over the next few years?”  A board game or card game night (Library already does these).  A resident questionnaire (tell us about yourself) and/or an “engagement page” in the City magazine full of reader sourced content. ADJOURNMENT : The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. on a motion from C. Bjornson and seconded by N. Powell-Thompson.