Cultural & Social Awareness Commission

MINUTES CITY OF WOODSTOCK CULTURAL AND SOCIAL AWARENESS COMMISSION February 27, 2023 A special meeting of the City of Woodstock Cultural and Social Awareness Commission was called to order by Chairperson Crystal Squires at 5:03PM on Monday, February 27, 2023, in the Basement Conference Room at Woodstock City Hall. A roll call was taken. COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: John Kendall, Jose Rivera, Kelly Smith, and Chairperson Crystal Squires. COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Abdul Akel, Juanita Martinez, and Joseph Starzynski STAFF PRESENT: Human Resources Director/Staff Liaison Deb Schober and City Clerk Cindy Smiley ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES Motion by J. Kendall, second by J. Rivera, to accept the minutes of the February 6, 2023 special meeting as presented. Ayes: Kendall, Rivera, Smith, and Chairperson Squires. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: Akel, Martinez, and Starzynski. Motion carried. 4. DISCUSSION ITEMS a. Approval of Awareness Month Proclamations Chairperson Squires noted Ms. Schober provided the members with a listing of the proposed Proclamations and their months as identified on page 11 of the draft plan. Ms. Schober stated if approved by the Commission, she will forward them to City Manager Stelford to get approval to make these standing proclamations for each year. Discussion followed. Chairperson Squires opined it is appropriate to do this for cultural awareness and to emphasize diverse populations. She suggested starting with this list and then expanding it to make them long-standing items. Discussion of the proclamations followed. Motion by J. Kendall, second by J. Starzynski, to approve the Awareness Month Proclamations as discussed by the Commission subject to approval by the City Manager and Mayor. b. Schedule of Commissioner Reception of Awareness Month Proclamations Chairperson Squires stated there should be at least one member of the Commission at each meeting to accept the proclamations, suggesting creation of a calendar for attendance. Following a brief discussion, the individual Commission members volunteered to attend the March through June Council meetings to accept the proclamations. Ms. Schober will prepare a calendar and forward to all so that absent Commissioners may sign up for July through November meetings.  Cultural and Social Awareness Commission 02/27/23 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 3 c. Review of DEI Roadmap Chairperson Squires stated she will make the grammatical changes indicated and reformat the revised Roadmap. Discussion ensued of the comments suggested for the revised Roadmap. Chairperson Squares will rework the Purpose section as discussed by the Commission. It was suggested to move the Introduction to Commission to before What is DEI? Discussion ensued of the Survey Conclusions section with Chairperson Squires stating she will work on rewording the section per the discussion. Discussion ensued of the Commission Goals with Chairperson Squires noting they have been ranked as previously discussed by the Commission and also have been made Smart Goals. She stated she has also added the resources that will be needed from the City to help achieve the goals. It was the consensus of the Commission to hold one DEI Educational Event to achieve the 2023 goal and four (4) such events as the 2024 goal. Discussion ensued of budgeting for the events. Regarding the goal to Increase Awareness of the Cultural and Social Awareness Commission, Chairperson Squires stated she would like to create a calendar of important cultural events, such as the adoption of the proclamations, on a social media page. Discussion ensued of the goal to increase attendance at the Commission meetings with Chairperson Squires suggesting putting posts on social media regarding the meetings in addition to the events. Discussion ensued of the goal to Encourage DEI Training for City Staff Members, including the specific goal for 2024. Ms. Schober will investigate this further. Discussion ensued of Coordinate an “Open to All” Pledge Campaign for Local Businesses with Chairperson Squires opining it needs further development. Commissioners Kendall and Starzynski will work on this. Following discussion of Submit Woodstock to the Municipal Equality Index (MEI) through Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Chairperson Squires stated she will review the wording on the MEI page. Discussion then ensued of how the plan can help achieve the City’s Strategic Goals with Ms. Schober noting the City is in the process of developing its Strategic Plan, a draft of which was reviewed at the last City Council meeting with direction provided to City Staff. Following revisions as identified by the City Council, the Plan will return for Council review and approval. 5. NEXT MEETING DATE It was noted the next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 3, 2023, at 5:00PM. It was the consensus of the Commission that a special meeting is not needed prior to that date and that the April 3rd meeting will be held in the Basement Conference Room. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no comment forthcoming from the Public.  Cultural and Social Awareness Commission 02/27/23 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 3 7. OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS There were no other Discussion Items. 8. ADJOURN Motion by J. Kendall, second by K. Smith, to adjourn this special meeting of the Cultural and Social Awareness Commission to its next regular meeting at 5:00PM on Monday, April 3, 2023, in the Basement Conference Room of Woodstock City Hall. Ayes: Kendall, Rivera, Smith, and Chairperson Squires. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: Akel, Martinez, and Starzynski. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 6:40PM. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Smiley, City Clerk