Community Relations Commission

CITY OF WHEATON COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION Minutes - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 I. Call to Order: by Vice-Chairman Desiray Young at 7:05 p.m. II. Roll Call: Commission Members Present: Commission Members Absent: Bill Balis Ronnie Gilles Bill Gilbertson Vickie Miller Dan Loftus Michelle Rollins Laurie Oberhelman Tom Teune Desiray Young Renee Webb III. Citizens to be heard: None IV. Approval of the minutes: from November 14, 2014. Renee moved, Tom seconded and the motion for approval carried. V. Continuing Business: A. Military Projects -- Desiray Young. Desiray informed the Commissioners that the Christmas stockings and gift packs had arrived at Ft. Riley on time and LTC Sanchez and the families greatly appreciated our generosity. He was also very thankful for the T-shirts that we provided to the members of his command and had already had them working out in them. Desiray was also pleased that the cost of the project had come in under the estimated budget. B. Cultural Diversity – Dan Loftus.. Dan informed us that he had met with Betsy Adamowski, Director, Wheaton Public Library, and she was very enthusiastic about partnering with us on the Cultural Diversity Event. It was decided that we should be looking at a September event to avoid a conflict with Make A Difference Day. Dan suggested an outdoor event using tents in the vicinity of the Library to feature cultural exhibits, information and entertainment. He would like Commissioners to think about various concepts for utilizing the tents to discuss at our March meeting to review with Director Adamowski later on in March. C. Make a Difference Day – Bill Gilbertson. While we discussed changing our focus on our adopted infantry battalion from Veterans Day in November to Flag Day in June at our last meeting Bill indicated that we needed more time to think this through and felt it was too late to initiate that change this year. Even though it was Laurie Oberhelman’s final meeting as a member of the Commission she volunteered to help us retain the banner sponsors that she has established through her contacts. Desiray indicated that we needed to get an earlier start on banner sponsorships this year. We need to get the banners out of storage to examine and determine which ones need to be repaired, replaced or changed to be useful. We also need to compare pricing from additional suppliers. D. Serve Illinois/Cities of Service – Renee Webb. Though no replacement has been named by the new administration to coordinate the State of Illinois Cities of Service Program Renee is confident the program will go forward. She reviewed the meeting with Mayor Gresk that was attended by herself, Ronnie, Tom and Bill on 1/29/15. Mayor Gresk was very interested and supportive of our participation in this program. He was willing to sign and submit the application for participation in this program. He was also willing to commit a member of his staff to work with us. But first of all we need to develop a meaningful project with specific objectives that would be measurable. It would need to involve various groups in the community such as schools and churches. The Commission would work to coordinate and supervise these groups. Renee has challenged the Commissioners to come up with some good ideas for projects at the next meeting. -1-  E. Good Citizens – Vickie Miller. No report. F. Treasurer’s Report -- Tom Teune.. Tom submitted a report of our expenditures through 1/31/15. It shows we have a balance of $1,902.83 remaining on our fiscal budget. G. Media Coordinator – Michelle Rollins. No report. VI. New Business: Desiray mentioned that 3 of our large banner stands for Cultural Diversity and Make A Difference Day Events were severely damaged by the high winds last fall and needed to be replaced. Desiray made a motion to purchase new ones, Laurie seconded and the motion passed. VII. Commissioners Comments: Being Laurie Oberhelman’s final meeting and on behalf of all of the Commissioners, Renee thanked her for all of her wonderful contributions to the Community Relations Commission during her many years of service. VIII. Adjournment: Desiray moved, Bill G seconded, a motion to adjourn at 8:25 p.m. Motion passed. -2-