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Sister City 2013/06/24 CITY OF ANAHEIM SISTER CITY COMMISSION MINUTES June 24, 2013 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Anthony Al-Jamie, Cynthia Coad, James Dinwiddie, Ann Gallagher, Laurie Leonard, Mark Lopez, Linda Newby, John Nguyen, Kyndell Paine, Anna Piercy, Pat Pina, Jennifer Vaughn COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Russell Lahodny and Debbie Juliani STAFF PRESENT: Erin Wahlen, GUESTS PRESENT: Connor Traut Agenda Posting: A complete copy of the Anaheim Sister City Commission Agenda was posted at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 21, 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. VII. Public Comment. I.CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Anaheim Sister City Commission (ASCC) was called to order at 4:09 p.m. on Monday, June 24, 2013 at th City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 7 Floor, Anaheim, California.  II.APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Commissioner Piercy offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Pina AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 11-0; Absent: Anthony Al-Jamie, Debbie Juliani, Mark Lopez and Russell Lahodny) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby approve the minutes from the ASCC Commission meeting held on May 20, 2013 with the reiteration that the Sister City Commission needs a detailed bio of Dr. Hataya before any type of recognition is approved.  -8)123 Anaheim Sister City Commission June 24, 2013 Page 2 III. Report since last month therefore the balance remains at $18,630.33. IV.AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Commissioner Dinwiddie reported on behalf of the Cultural Exchange Committee that they have put together a tentative Mito Student Exchange Schedule for the Mito students for their visit from Friday, July 26 through Saturday, August 10. The welcome BBQ with the Liebermans is scheduled for Saturday, July 27 and Commissioner Dinwiddie is hoping that all the Commissioners can attend that. The rest of the time is virtually going to be students in class with Marnie Colby. An Angel game is also going to be added to the schedule and finally, the Sayonara Dinner is planned for Friday, August 9. Once the schedule has been confirmed, They are looking for two days at the Disneyland Resort, one day at Disneyland and the other at Disney California Adventure. He emailed the ticket request to Commissioner Paine. Commissioner Paine confirmed she received the request and added Disney is also going to provide draw string backpacks. Commissioner Lopez joined the Sister City Commission meeting. Commissioner Dinwiddie asked the Commission to review the schedule and to let him know if they have any further suggestions. A follow-up subcommittee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 3 at 2:00 p.m. Commissioner Coad suggested the Boy Scouts newly developed campsite adjacent to the Irvine Park as another location for the students to tour. Commissioner Al-Jamie joined the Sister City Commission meeting. Commissioner Leonard reminded Commissioner Dinwiddie of the liability release and the photo permission slips for the parents. Erin Wahlen reported staff is checking to see if Sunkist Elementary school is in session during the time of the student exchange visit to schedule a tour. Commissioner Piercy indicated there is no summer school being offered at the the Culinary Arts or the Medical Ball Road ROP facilities that have sessions going on all year. Commissioner Dinwiddie stated they are still continuing to look for host families. Host families are not required to live in Anaheim, but they will have to drive to Anaheim daily to drop off and pick up students.  Anaheim Sister City Commission June 24, 2013 Page 3 Commissioner Newby reported on behalf of the Economic Development Ad Hoc Subcommittee that their subcommittee would be meeting on Tuesday, June 25 at 2:00 p.m. at the Chamber to develop their Economic Plan. Commissioners Nguyen and Lopez indicated they would be joining the meeting. V.MITO SQUARE UPDATE Erin Wahlen met with Community Services staff and got the background for the construction of Mito Square. Mito Square was developed in 1986. There were three sources of funding, the City of Anaheim, the Sister City Association and MAssociation. The Mito funding went to the installation of Cherry trees that were planted in the median and along the sidewalk. Those trees are not there anymore because they did not do well with the climate. A student from Cal Poly Pomona developed the plans for Mito Square. The plans were approved by the Sister City Association and the Mito Sister City Association. A question was raised if Mito Square is part of the Friendship Plaza and how and Square. Commissioner Pina is going to call some of the former Sister City Commission Association members and ask for additional background information. Erin indicated Pamela Galera from Community Services suggested that the drawings of Mito Square be provided to the Mito Sister City Association so that they can propose the plants they would like to see and in what areas and then Pamela and her team would work on identifying the plants that would thrive in our climate and that would also be native to Japan. Another possibility to acknowledge Dr. Hataya is to create a plaque similar to the Plaza in honor of Dr. Hataya. This would all be taken into consideration once the why the Commission is honoring Dr. Hataya. Chairman Nguyen indicated his understanding was that they would name the the Friendship Plaza. Erin clarified it was just a suggestion brought up for discussion. After further discussion, it was suggested that the Commission provide the Mito Sister Association with a proposal so that they have clear parameters of what the City can and cannot accommodate. A complete bio of Dr. Hataya is also going to be requested.  Anaheim Sister City Commission June 24, 2013 Page 4 VI.PUDONG UPDATE Chairman Nguyen reported the formal meetings with officials in Pudong will take place on August 22 and 23. Commissioners Nguyen, Paine and Lopez will be going to Pudong and presenting the resolution that was recently approved by the City Council. A letter has also been prepared on behalf of Mayor Tait expressing his and the City Council support of the Pudong/Anaheim relationship. Chairman Nguyen indicated Marty DeSollar notified him that there is group of government and business folks studying at Cal State Fullerton for the summer that are very well connected with the Pudong government. Marty let them know that Anaheim is interested in a sister city relationship with Pudong and they very willingly accepted an invitation to meet with Commission members and talk about Pudong. This group would be coming to meet with Chairman Nguyen and anyone else from the Commission immediately following the Commission meeting that day. The group of students is returning to Pudong on August 20. VII.PUBLIC COMMENT Connor Traut s not in the minutes and no one seems to know. Staff will find out and report back at the next Commission meeting. Mr. Traut also asked about the relationship with Vitoria Gasteiz. He stated since he has been attending this Commission meeting for the last couple of months he has been hearing a lot about the relationships with Mito and Pudong and has not really heard anything about Vitoria Gasteiz. Erin Wahlen responded Anaheim and Vitoria Gasteiz just recently became engaged in a Worker Exchange Program. Ted White, a Senior Planner from the Planning Department, approached the Commission and asked if the Commission would be willing to do a Worker Exchange Program with Vitoria Gasteiz. This is something that Vitoria Gasteiz was very supportive of. Ted has been in contact with his counterpart at the Planning Department in Vitoria Gasteiz and they have already arranged for housing and are finalizing the final details for the trip. Commissioner Newby thanked Commissioner Al-Jamie for his recent nomination submittal to Sister Cities International for her extraordinary Sister City Commission activities.  Anaheim Sister City Commission June 24, 2013 Page 5 Commissioner Piercy took a moment to thank Commissioner Newby for all her positive contributions to the Sister City Commission. Commissioner Coad advised that her term is up and that this would be her last Commission meeting. She advised she looks forward to attending future Sister City Commission fundraisers. Erin Wahlen reported that the City Council continued the appointment of new Sister City Commissioners to the July 2, City Council meeting. VIII.COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Paine participated in this meeting via conference call. Commissioner Coad reiterated the importance of receiving a bio for Dr. Hataya. She added because of the recent case with a 94-year old Nazi in Minnesota who had been hiding out from World War II. She stated Dr. Hataya would have been involved in World War II. Ijust get a bio for the last couple years, but the Commission needs to know what this gentleman did during World War II. Commissioner Coad further indicated the chief of protocol for the County of Orange is very familiar at in-depth investigations if the Commission is interested in speaking to her. for the Commission and for the elected to have a detailed bio. Commissioner Coad added she feels that an in-depth investigation should also be conducted on Dr. Hataya. IX.ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:28 p.m. to Monday, July 22, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. at the Anaheim City Hall, Conference Room No. 2.