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Sister City 2013/04/22CITY OF ANAHEIM SISTER CITY COMMISSION MINUTES April 22, 2013 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Anthony Al- Jamie, Cynthia Coad, James Dinwiddie, Debbie Juliani, Russell Lahodny, Laurie Leonard, Mark Lopez, Linda Newby, John Nguyen, Brian O'Neal, Kyndell Paine, Anna Piercy, Pat Pina COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Ann Gallagher, Jennifer Vaughn Erin Wahlen, City Manager's Office Maggie Solorio, City Manager's Office GUESTS PRESENT: Michael Ye Yuko Saito - Rodriguez Connor Traut Agenda Posting: A complete copy of the Anaheim Sister City Commission Agenda was posted at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 29, 2013 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. VIII. Public Comment. I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Anaheim Sister City Commission (ASCC) was called to order at 4:08 p.m. on Monday, April 22, 2013 at the Anaheim City Manager's Office, City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 7 Floor, Anaheim, California. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION Commissioner Pina offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Newby AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 10 -0; Absent: Ann Gallagher, Jennifer Vaughn, Anthony Al- Jamie, Mark Lopez and Russell Lahodny) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby approve the minutes from the ASCC Commission meeting held on March 25, 2013 with no changes. Anaheim Sister City Commission April 22, 2013 Page 2 III. TREASURER'S REPORT Commissioner Leonard reported that there are no changes to the Treasurer's Report since last month therefore the balance remains at $18,880.33. IV. AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Chairman Nguyen noted that all Commissioners with the exception of Commissioner Vaughn had been assigned to an Ad Hoc Subcommittee as reflected on the March 25 Commission Minutes. Commissioner Dinwiddie reported on behalf of the Cultural Exchange Committee that he spoke with Mr. Wang about the Mito student exchange. Ten students, six girls and four boys, will be participating in the student exchange program this year. The students will be here from Friday, July 26 through Saturday, August 10. Commissioner Dinwiddie also noted that a Mito Exchange Student Program ad will be featured in the 2013 spring edition of the Anaheim Magazine and will be out on Friday, April 26. Commissioner Dinwiddie further advised that an itinerary would be prepared in advance of the students visit. Commissioner Paine asked that the request for Disneyland tickets and the exact date the students would be going be put in writing and sent to her by email so that she could process the request. It was agreed that Erin Wahlen would reach out to the local reporters to see if they would agree to place an ad on the newspaper inviting families to host Mito exchange students this summer. Chairman Nguyen also noted that the City Council would appreciate monthly updates at City Council meetings and that the effort would be placed to start doing that as soon as possible. Commissioner Lahodny joined the Sister City Commission meeting. V. REPORT OF THE SOCAL SISTER CITY CONFERENCE Chairman Nguyen reported he and four member of the Sister City Commission attended the Southern California Sister City Conference. Commissioner Al -Jamie and Commissioner Lopez joined the Sister City Commission meeting. Commissioner Newby reported that at the conference she picked up really good materials including a directory of the sister cities in the United States. Los Angeles Council Member Tom LaBonge was at the SoCal Conference and spoke about LA's sister city. Commissioner Newby feels that this conference is a good Anaheim Sister City Commission April 22, 2013 Page 3 opportunity to promote Anaheim's Sister Cities and suggested that they have a table with brochures and directories at next year's conference. Commissioner Newby also introduced Dr. Michael Ye and thanked him for joining the Commission meeting as an advisor. Chairman Nguyen stated the SoCal Sister City Conference was a great conference and that they got to know local sister cities. The attendance at the conference was approximately 100 people. Chairman Nguyen also thanked Commissioner Julian for pulling her contacts together to help with the audio visuals. Commissioner Al -Jamie announced that he joined the SoCal Sister City Board. Commissioner Lopez asked about the status of the thank you notes that were going to be sent out to those who participated. Commissioner Julian indicated her committee will get working on the thank you notes, but with the changes in commission members, the stationary needs to be updated. VI. MITO STATUE UPDATE Chairman Nguyen announced that Mr. Hataya, the former President of the Mito City International Association is turning 90 this year and the Mayor and the City Officials of Mito want to do something in his honor. Chairman Nguyen then introduced Yuko Saito - Rodriguez who will be the liaison between Anaheim and Mito to assist in this recognition. Yuko Saito - Rodriguez stated she was born in Japan and lives in the United States. Her uncle who is a Committee Member for the Sister City Commission in Japan asked her to attend the Anaheim Sister City Commission meetings to help facilitate the planning of this recognition. She indicated the Mito Sister City Commission's original wish was to have a statue of Mr. Hataya and after further discussions, they have put aside that idea and are now looking at some kind of a symbol such as a fountain somewhere in the garden. Several suggestions were brought up to honor Mr. Hataya. Commissioner Pina suggested a monument similar to the one being dedicated at the Anaheim Police Department on Wednesday, April 24. Commissioner Piercy suggested a water feature that would somehow compliment the Friendship Plaza in front of City Hall. Something like a trickling water fall with a bronze plaque. Commissioner O'Neil suggested seating such as a bench at the Friendship Plaza. Anaheim Sister City Commission April 22, 2013 Page 4 Ms. Saito - Rodriguez noted that Mr. Hataya's birthday is October 6 and that when Mito Sister City Commission was considering a statue to honor Mr. Hataya, they approved $65,000.00 towards the recognition. She added that Mito Sister City Commission has a committee that is planning this and would like to visit Anaheim to view the area that will be designated for this recognition. Commissioner Coad suggested they do something visible like one of the suggestions that have been brought up by the Commission members and then use the remaining money for an endowment for scholarships in Mr. Hataya' s name. Erin Wahlen will touch base with Senior Planner Ted White to see what the opportunities are from a planning perspective in the Friendship Plaza. Erin also mentioned that an alternative location could be the Friendship Branch at the Anaheim Shores. Commissioner Al -Jamie agreed to give Ms. Saito - Rodriguez a tour of the Friendship Plaza at the conclusion of the meeting. VII. PUDONG UPDATE Erin Wahlen stated staff is preparing a resolution and staff report that will go before the City Council on Tuesday, May 14. The resolution will state that the City of Anaheim is extending their hand to Pudong, China to pursue a Sister City relationship that will promote mutual understanding, cultural and student exchange, and economic development. This is the first formal step toward entering into a sister city relationship. Staff anticipates that a subsequent declaration will go to council later in the year after Kyndell and John visit Pudong, and after the City receives correspondence from Pudong expressing their interest in being a sister city with Anaheim. VIII. PUBLIC COMMENT Connor Traut stated he served as a Civic Councilmember in Ladera Ranch and just recently moved to Anaheim. He is attending this meeting at the recommendation of Council Member Brandman to start getting involved in the community. Erin Wahlen noted that in February, the SoCal Sister City Conference had a board meeting at the Anaheim Downtown Community Center. Staff was able to get them the meeting room free of charge and provided the conference call system. The SoCal Sister City Association recently reached out to staff again and wants come back and continue to have their board meetings in Anaheim. Erin is going to be speaking to the manager of the Community Center to see what the cost is for Anaheim Sister City Commission April 22, 2013 Page 5 recurring meetings and what the options are to see if staff will be able to continue to provide it for them or if they will have to pay a small fee. Chairman Nguyen stated this committee is self - sufficient and to not feel obligated to provide the meeting rooms free of charge. Dr. Michael Ye stated it was a pleasure to attend this meeting. He enjoyed it and was impressed with how well organized and efficient and the great ideas that were presented. It's a great opportunity for him to learn and interact with the Commission members. He expressed that if in the future he can provide any information about Pudong, China that he would be happy to do so. He will stay in contact with Commissioner Newby and made himself available to answer any questions. Chairman Nguyen encouraged Dr. Ye to stay in contact because as soon as the City Council approves the resolution, the Commission will approach Sister Cities International and get everybody on board to move forward. He added that he and Commissioner Paine will be visiting Pudong, China this summer to deliver the formal resolution and pursue a formal relationship with Pudong. IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Coad announced that her term will end in June, and although she has thoroughly enjoyed being on this Commission, she is not going to seek for another term. Chairman Nguyen noted both his and Commissioner Dinwiddie's terms are up in June. Commissioner Pina posed the question that for the Commissioners that term out, has the thought ever come up to have a subcommittee or an advisory board where these people can continue to stay involved. Chairman Nguyen thanked Commissioner Pina for bringing up that point. He stated the Commission was initiated by an ordinance that stipulates that there are 15 voting members and there is nothing that discourages the Commission to have members at large. He stated everybody is welcome to attend the meetings and contribute, however they just can't vote. The more people we can get engaged and involved, the better. X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m. to May 20, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. at the Anaheim City Hall, Conference Room #2.