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Sister City 2012/11/26CITY OF ANAHEIM SISTER CITY COMMISSION MINUTES November 26, 2012 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Anthony Al-Jamie, Cynthia Coad, James Dinwiddie, Ann Gallagher, Lisa Gin, Debbie Juliani, Russell Lahodny, Laurie Leonard, Linda Newby, John Nguyen, Pat Pina, Brian O’Neal, Kyndell Paine, Anna Piercy, Jennifer COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Vaughn STAFF PRESENT: Greg Garcia, City Manager’s Office Erin Wahlen, City Manager’s Office GUESTS PRESENT: Henri Soucy, Member of the Public Agenda Posting: A complete copy of the Anaheim Sister City Commission Agenda was posted at 3:30 p.m. on November 23, 2012 at Anaheim City Hall. Public Input: Chairman Nguyen explained that members of the public are invited to address the Anaheim Sister City Commission and will be called upon under Agenda Item No. VII. Public Comment. I.CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Anaheim Sister City Commission (ASCC) was called to order at 4:05 p.m. on Monday, November 26, 2012 at the Anaheim City Manager’s th Office, City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 7 Floor, Anaheim, California. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Commissioner Pina offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Gallagher AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 11-0; Absent: O’Neal, Paine, Piercy, Vaughn) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby approve the minutes from the ASCC Commission meeting held on October 22, 2012. III. TREASURER’S REPORT Commissioner Leonard reported that there are no changes on the Treasurer’s report this month. Anaheim Sister City Commission November 26, 2012 Page 2 MOTION: Commissioner Newby offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Gin AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 11-0; Absent: O’Neal, Paine, Piercy, Vaughn) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby approve the Treasurer’s Report as presented. Chairman Nguyen made a request that there be a separate page for the expenses on the recent Mito Delegation visit, once all the information comes in. Commissioner Newby requested that an accounting of the gifts that were given be recorded. IV. MITO DELEGATION - RECAP Chairman Nguyen thanked the commissioners for their generous assistance and participation with the Mito delegation visit. On the evening of their arrival, former Commissioner Kyoko Smith was in attendance with Chairman Nguyen to assist in greeting the delegation. During the following three days, quite a lot was accomplished: Commissioner Dinwiddie was in attendance to escort the delegation to Disneyland while Mr. Wang toured Costco, a Senior Center and Kaiser Permanente with Chairman Nguyen. Commissioners O’Neal, Piercy and Al-Jamie were in attendance on Tuesday at Western High School to greet the delegation. Former Commissioner Joseph Aihara, who is a teacher at Western High School, was also in attendance participating in the tour of the high school where there was an exchange of gifts. A tour of the Tiger Woods Learning Center was taken where they learned of all of the benefits of the Learning Center. Commissioners Leonard, Lahodny and Al-Jamie joined the delegation for a tour of Extron, where the president and owner, Andrew Edwards, was very welcoming as he greeted the delegation, took pictures with them and exchanged gifts. Lunch was at Umami Burger where Commissioner Dinwiddie joined the delegation. A tour of City Hall was taken with a viewing of the traffic center. A meeting with Mayor Tait for a Q & A session where the questions were mostly regarding equality and the “Hi Neighbor” program. Anaheim Sister City Commission November 26, 2012 Page 3 A tour of the fire station where the delegates tried on uniforms and took pictures in the fire truck. A tour of the police department was given. A tour of Angel Stadium, ending with a dinner and farewell program. (Council Members Eastman, Murray, Galloway and Sidhu all joined in greeting the delegation on this evening). Chairman Nguyen thanked the commission again for all of the participation and gave acknowledgment to Erin Wahlen for planning and coordinating everything. V. AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Chairman Nguyen noted that he has talked with Mr. Wang who has stated that Mito will not be prepared to host the student exchange program until possibly year 2014, however they will be able to participate in sending a student exchange group to Anaheim. In addition, the current Mayor of Mito has suggested that Anaheim honor Mr. Youichi Hataya who is the President and founder of the Mito City International Association, and was previously deemed Honorary Mayor of Anaheim. The request is to have Anaheim honor Mr. Hataya with a statue or something similar. After some discussion, Greg Garcia suggested that the commission come up with a plan and then present it to the City Council for approval. VI. AET PROGRAM PRESENTATION Chairman Nguyen introduced presenter Henri Soucy who was a former Sister City Association member and is now a volunteer coordinator for Anaheim’s Sister City, Mito. Mr. Soucy is attending the ASCC meeting to make a presentation on the Assistant English Teacher (AET) Program in regards to having the ASCC assist with making the recommendations for the AET Program. Mr. Soucy provided a seven page presentation with details on the history of the AET Program, the salary and benefits, and the current status of the program, along with the future status options and recommendations. Mr. Soucy reported that this year he has received 11 inquiries and is anticipating that he will receive the required applications, two letters of recommendations, passport photo I.D.’s, and resumes. At that time, background checks will be performed and interviews will be conducted. Anaheim Sister City Commission November 26, 2012 Page 4 Mr. Soucy clarified that he is requesting that the ASCC assist him with the process, or even the possibility of the ASCC taking over the AET Program recommendation process. A roundtable discussion followed regarding necessary education requirements and any possible liability issues that could be involved regarding recommending applicants for the AET position. Commissioner Coad made the suggestion to check with the City Attorney on this item for any possible ramifications of being involved with making the recommendations. Commissioner Al-Jamie suggests that the AET’s should be required to complete the 15 week (on-line) Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Certification process to learn the fundamentals in the field of language teaching. Additionally, Commissioner Newby suggested that the AET Program consider the TESL Certification Class recommendation that has been suggested by Commissioner Al-Jamie, who is a professional in the field, and can provide resource and oversight. Further, Commissioner Coad suggested that the commission review the outline of the TESL Certification Class, in order for the commission to be aware of what the recommendation would entail. Mr. Soucy thanked the Commission and stated that possibly for next year it can be reviewed again, as the recommendation process is too far along at this time to offer the 15 week certification class. He also suggested that possibly for the next year, they could offer the requirement that would let applicants know that if they are selected they will be required to take the TESL Certification Class that is offered at Anaheim University. The participants would have to agree to take the course in order to obtain a recommendation from this AET Program. Additionally, obtaining the TESL Certification will be a great addition to their resume. Lastly, Greg suggested that next year the ASCC could possibly put a promotion on the ASCC website for the AET Program and have it refer applicants to Mr. Soucy. Greg invited Mr. Soucy to return next year to present the program again and that the commission could then determine the details of the University program and begin the outreach earlier in the AET recommendation process. Anaheim Sister City Commission November 26, 2012 Page 5 MOTION: Commissioner Newby offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Coad AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 11-0; Absent: O’Neal, Paine, Piercy, Vaughn) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission would like to possibly offer to provide further resources next year to the AET Program with their liaison, Commissioner Al-Jamie of Anaheim University, to encourage the AET candidates to become TESL certified for the year 2014-2015. VII. PUBLIC COMMENT None. VIII. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Newby recently visited Pudong, China to open the conversation about the possibility of beginning a sister city relationship. At the meeting today, Commissioner Newby shared a gift received, which was a commemorative plate and she also submitted the business cards of the Chinese representatives that she met with. Pudong is interested in a sister city relationship with Anaheim, as they are very interested in the options for Anaheim schools, education and the opportunities for a student exchange program. Commissioner Newby thanked Commissioner Gallagher for her assistance in preparing for the visit by having everything translated into Chinese. She also thanked the Chamber of Commerce for their contribution of items regarding the Enterprise Zone Program and business cards which were also translated into Chinese. The ASCC was well represented due to all of the assistance Commissioner Newby was given. While on this trip, Commissioner Newby also visited the city of Hangzhou and met with their representatives. She toured the city; however the business meetings were cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Commissioner Newby reported that it was an excellent educational trip. She submitted a letter from Mayor Tait to inform them that Anaheim is interested in a sister city relationship. Chairman Nguyen thanked Commissioner Newby for taking her travel time to stop there and represent the ASCC and hand deliver a letter from Mayor Tait. On another note, Commissioner Dinwiddie invited everyone to attend the Annual Downtown Nutcracker Tree Lighting Event on Saturday, December 1 at Center Street Promenade, in front of The Rinks - Disney Ice. Anaheim Sister City Commission November 26, 2012 Page 6 Lastly, Commissioner Gin announced that she is moving out of the area at the end of the year, therefore she will no longer be available to serve on the commission. She stated that she has been honored to be a part of the commission and that she is sad to leave the commission, but looking forward to her new ventures ahead. The commission thanked Commissioner Gin for all of her hard work and expertise in so many areas. The commission wished her a fond farewell, as she will be greatly missed. Greg Garcia acknowledged and thanked Erin Wahlen for stepping in for Greg during his absence. Greg has asked Erin to continue to be involved. Greg will also continue to be involved as his schedule permits. IX. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:47 p.m. to January 28, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. at the Anaheim City Hall, Conference Room #2.