Inclusion and Belonging Commission

10/12/2023 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: City Council Liaison Aurora Hurd, Parker Silver, Chair, Lily Hammerling, Ruth Steinmetz and Anna Marchessault City Staff Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager, Jenny Willingham, Interim Staff Liaison Guests Present: Harly Rodriguez Call to Order by: Parker Silver, Chair Meeting Start Time: 6:02 PM Minutes Recorded by: Jenny Willingham II. Public Comment None III. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Not a quorum – this will be approved at the next meeting. IV. City Council Liaison Updates Councilor Aurora Hurd provided an overview of the annual joint board meeting that was held on October 11 th with Winooski City Councilors and Winooski School District board. Discussion ensued regarding a shared priority of securing housing for families and ways to codify this objective. In addition, looking for feedback from the Pedestrian & Bike Master Plan. There have been previous discussions and community outreach events to obtain feedback. In addition, there were forums that were presented with multiple languages. This feedback is a helpful part of the process for the City Council to approve. V. City Staff Liaison Updates l Welcoming New Assistant Clerk- Sarah Greenberg th l Utility bills mailed out on October 12 . The due dates are November 15 th for taxes/utilities l Reappraisal process is progressing- crossed over Main Street l On October 6 th visited Winooski School District for the “Culture & Community Capstone” class taught by Annie Schneider. The topic was “All Resident Voting”. The students were really engaged about learning about the process. l Discussion arose about the Reappraisal process and notification to property owners as well as Tenants. City Manager stated the process has not been formalized but thanked the Chair for the recommendation. VI. Welcoming New Members Anna Marchessault & Lily Hammerling The new Inclusion & Belonging Commissioners were welcomed to the Commission. Anna  as well as Tenants. City Manager stated the process has not been formalized but thanked the Chair for the recommendation. VI. Welcoming New Members Anna Marchessault & Lily Hammerling The new Inclusion & Belonging Commissioners were welcomed to the Commission. Anna Marchessault will serve as the Ambassador to the Safe Healthy Connected People Commission and Lily Hammerling will serve as the Ambassador to the Housing Commission. In addition, both Anna and Lily gave a summary of their interest in the Inclusion & Belonging Commission. VII. Still Needed: 2 Alternate Members Discussion led by Councilor Hurd regarding the need for 2 Alternates as well as the role each Commissioner would have in their capacity to serve as an Ambassador for the individual Commissions. The Commission will discuss this role in further detail at the next meeting. Discussion would involve an Ambassador update on each Agenda along with discussion around bringing the equity lens. A review of the ... VIII. Engagement for Public Comment Harly Rodriguez recited his recent experiences and recommendations on how to be involved in Winooski. Questions arose by Harly regarding opportunities for home ownership. City Manager Elaine Wang gave an overview of the Housing Initiatives being developed at this time. Discussion arose on ways to bring in new members. Dedicating time for encouraging public comment as part of the Agenda was discussed. IX. Bullet List Items on the Equity Audit Executive Summary Discussion ensued on prioritizing the individual themes from the Equity Audit. The individual themes are a recommendation from the Commission keeping in mind that the City is very short- staffed and might not be able to provide action on all items. The Commission is hoping to receive feedback on ways to convey the findings and responses to the general public as well as Leadership (Mayor, City Council & City Manager). Finding useful ways to community the highlights of the Equity Audit Summary. Commissioner Steinmetz offered a recommendation to have a joint response between the City and the School. X. Video Project: Cost Estimate Sample Interim Staff Liaison presented information regarding the Commissions’ desire to create a video on the Inclusion & Belonging Commission as well as addressing the Equity Audit. The costs for this production might not be feasible but the Commission would like to view other options in conjunction with our Partners. XI. Adjourn A motion to adjourn by Anna Marchessault and seconded by Ruth Steinmetz to adjourn at 7:08 PM. Motion passed 4-0