Ethnic Community Committee

City of Sterling Heights ETHNIC COMMUNITY COMMITTEE Official minutes of the Thursday, September 2, 2021 regular meeting MEMBERS PRESENT: Kelechi Anyaoga Abbott Basal Willie Dechavez Susan Kattula Iqbal Singh Shawn Taylor Carmen Williams MEMBERS ABSENT: Mohammed Alomari Dunia Arif Kozeta Elzhenni Stacy Williams OFFICIALS PRESENT: Community Relations Services Specialist Sue Giallombardo 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes: MOTION by Dechavez, SECONDED by Taylor. Approved 7-0 4. Communication from Citizens:  Kelechi Anyaoga introduced himself; he’s been a resident of Sterling Heights since 2017, a graduate of Bowling Green, Ohio, and is owner of his own insurance agency, Fountain Insurance Agency. He volunteers with the Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the city’s Community Alliance. 5. Communications from the Sterling Heights Police Dept.-Sgt. Kevin Reese  Reese reported that there was a homicide two nights ago, was not random and is currently under investigation. The PD is starting a Slow Your Roll campaign, targeting speeders and reckless drivers on major roads. The police department will also be implementing a website that will track statistics in crimes, incidents, arrests, officer complaints, etc. This will allow for more transparency with the community. Reese also said that there is a higher theft rate with Chargers and Challengers. If members have any questions and/or concerns for Detective Reese, he can be reached at 586-446-2931 or by email at kreese@sterling-heights.net 6. Agenda A. Approval of Meeting Dates for Fiscal Year 2021/2022  Giallombardo distributed the proposed meeting dates for the upcoming fiscal year.  There were no issues with listed dates; Dechavez made a MOTION to approve the meeting dates for fiscal year 2021/2022; SECONDED by Basal. Approved 7-0. B. Building Bridges  Anyaogu stated that he volunteers with the Chamber of Commerce, networking and sharing resources.  Dechavez stated that he coordinated a town hall meeting in Warren regarding redistricting, the police department’s National Night Out, and attended a voter suppression meeting. He added that USP4GG was selected by CORE Magazine as a recipient of a diversity award in September, Dechavez received a grant to help fund the Rice Festival held in Warren, there were 30 vendors at the free event, it was very successful, and he thanked Singh for his support. Dechavez added that himself and Singh attended India Day at the Novi Showroom.  National Night Out was attended by Willie, Iqbal, Kelechi, Abbott and Kozetta, who were there to promote the Ethnic Community Committee and the diversity dinner.  C. Williams stated that she attended the African American Coalition meeting, and the NAACP Protect Our Right to Vote meeting.  For more information on any of the above mentioned items, please feel free to contact fellow members. C. Diversity Distinction Awards Dinner  Giallombardo stated that the annual Diversity Distinction Awards dinner will be held on Thursday, September 30 at the Century Banquet Hall.  Sponsor ads are coming in nicely, but ticket sales are still pretty low; Giallombardo encouraged members to continue promoting the event to sell ads and tickets.  Dechavez stated that he will place at least four ads, and has three groups that would like to perform and plans on selling a lot of tickets as well.  Singh has already purchased a full page ad for the program. Anyaogu has also placed an ad and purchased a ticket; Basal will also be purchasing an ad.  Giallombardo stated that the menu will be a nice variety, and will have a vegetarian option as well. The venue is charging $22 per plate, tickets will be $00 per person; with performers purchasing tickets for $25.  Giallombardo distributed bios for five recipients: Stacy Bahri, Brenda Sanagustin, Warren Consolidated Schools, J.R. Counseling & Associates and Phil Gilchrist.  Dechavez made a MOTION of award each of the above recipients with a Diversity Distinction Award; SECONDED by Kattula. Approved: 7-0.  Giallombardo will continue to provide status reports via e-mail and reminded members that the deadline for sponsors is Sept. 17. D. Networking with Groups & Organizations during meetings  Giallombardo reminded members that Dechavez asked that the committee discuss inviting individuals to meetings so that they could discuss their organization and share ideas and resources. Dechavez said that he would like to invite the president from USP4GG to attend the October meeting.  Giallombardo stated that the guests should not speak longer than ten minutes, to keep the meeting on track.  Giallombardo noted that at the June meeting, Alomari suggested that the members vote to approve each invited guest before they are invited. Basal stated that he did not find it necessary to pre-approve guests, under the assumption that members  would not invite individuals that would be controversial. Any member that would like to invite someone to attend the meeting, to discuss items relatable to the committee, is welcome to do so.  Dechavez made a MOTION to allow members to invite a guest to attend a meeting and share information about their cultural organizations, SECONDED by Singh. Approved: 7-0. 7. Old Business:  Dechavez stated that he is working on his book about Filipino Americans in Michigan; he has 12 writers to date and hope to have it printed in 2022. Kattula said that she liked the idea, and had attended an event at Cobo Hall, and enjoyed visiting a table with individuals from several cultures sharing their immigration stories.  Giallombardo reminded members to think about C. Williams’ idea of “Coffee, Culture & Conversation.” Please submit ideas for dates and locations if we’d like to put this into motion.  Dechavez will be putting items into a showcase at the Community Center to celebrate National Filipino Month. The showcase is located on the second floor. 8. New Business:  Giallombardo said that the city will be hosting a condensed version of Sterlingfest, called Oktoberfest on October 8 & 9; the festival will have two stages of entertainment, food trucks and beer. She asked members if they would like to have a tent at the event; there was not enough interest.  Giallombardo said that Mayor Taylor will be presenting his State of the City address on September 14, at 6:00 p.m., at the Farmers Market Pavilion. This is a free event and all members are welcome to attend. 9. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.