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Sister City 2018/06/04CITY OF ANAHEIM SISTER CITY COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: GUESTS PRESENT: MINUTES June 4, 2018 Anthony Al -Jamie, Paul Anderson, Kevin Barrot, Taline Cole, James Dinwiddie II, Lori Dinwiddie, Jackie Filbeck, Elizabeth Jabaz, Larry L. Larsen, Jerry O'Keefe, Brian O'Neal, Brigitte Rodgers Eric Bullard, Barbara Gerovac, Anna Piercy Greg Garcia, City Manager's Office Kimberly Kelemen, Community Services Maggie Solorio, City Manager's Office David Bracey Agenda Posting_ A complete copy of the Anaheim Sister City Commission Agenda was posted on Friday, June 1, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. at Anaheim City Hall. Public Input: Chair Anthony Al -Jamie explained that members of the public are invited to address the Anaheim Sister City Commission and will be called upon under Agenda Item No. IX. Public Comment. I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anthony Al -Jamie called the meeting of the Anaheim Sister City Commission (ASCC) to order at 4:10 p.m. on Monday, June 4, 2018 at the Anaheim City Manager's Office, City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 7th Floor, Anaheim, California. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Commissioner Jerry O'Keefe offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Brian O'Neal AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 10-0; Abstained: Taline Cole; Absent: Eric Bullard, Barbara Gerovac, Elizabeth Jabaz and Anna Piercy) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby approve the minutes from the ASCC meeting held on April 23, 2018 as presented. Anaheim Sister City Commission June 4, 2018 Page 2 III. TEASURER'R REPORT Treasurer Jim Dinwiddie distributed a Treasurer's report from January 2018 and noted that an updated copy was not available. He is going to work with staff to update the report for the next ASCC meeting. Treasurer Dinwiddie reviewed the expenses on the January report for the 2017 inbound and outbound student exchanges and noted the Commission spent close to $3,000 for both. Commissioner Larry Larsen questioned why the City does not provide funding for the Commission if they are a city commission. Vice Chair Lori Dinwiddie responded the City supports the Commission on some items such as the food for the Sayonara Dinner and such, but they do not cover all of the costs. The Commission is responsible for funding its own organization. Chair Anthony Al -Jamie added the Commission also has great support from the community, from Disney and from other organizations that contribute the tickets and things that help keep their overhead in check. He further explained that with sister cities, every city has their own relationship and some cities have private associations that are completely run on their own and other cities have good relationships. Anaheim has always been seen as a model relationship where there is really good communication between the Commission and the City. Commissioner Taline Cole noted it is not just Anaheim that has to fundraise, she just recently attended a race to raise money for Garden Grove's sister city. Commissioner Jackie Filbeck added the City pays for different things throughout the year and it is the responsibility of the Commission to fundraise, they have a committee for that. IV. 2018 INBOUND/OUTBOUND STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMS & APPROVE BUDGETING FOR CHAPERONE ACCOMMODATIONS Chair Al -Jamie reported the Commission paid for the airline tickets for the six outbound students and two chaperones. He advised the chaperones would be joining the ASCC meeting at 4:45 p.m. that day to introduce themselves. The chaperones are two young ladies, his niece, Hannah Al -Jamie and Melissa Zazueta. They both have a lot of inter -cultural experience; they both have traveled the world; and, are young and energetic. Commissioner Jackie stated she will talk to them of what to expect during the trip and she is working on the gifts for them to take to Japan. Anaheim Sister City Commission June 4, 2018 Page 3 Chair Al -Jamie asked to discuss some items that he would like to change related to the inbound and outbound exchanges. Traditionally, the Commission does not pay for the chaperone's hotel. From an ethical standpoint, he feels the Commission must cover the chaperones' airfare and hotel. He manages 170 sister cities in southern California, so he is aware of the issues that they run into. One of the reasons he feels this needs to be changed is that the Commission needs to be able to attract a good number of applicants in the future so that they do not have to go recruiting. It is not easy to find someone on short notice who can drop everything and go to Japan. The other reason they need to do this is so that the chaperones understand they are making a full commitment to look after the students. From his experience in sister cities, once we start making chaperones pay for part of their trip, they tend to want to find private time to pursue some of their own interests. After all, it is costing them money out of their own pocket. The Commission is looking for chaperones who are committed to the responsibility of looking after the students. Paying for their air ticket but not their hotel is like sending an employee abroad and asking them to pay for their own lodging. He feels that from an ethical standpoint they need to pay for the flight and lodging for all chaperones from here on forward and that the chaperone's personal interests have to be secondary to their responsibilities. In fact, it is ok for the chaperones to have private plans on the weekend but they need to be prepared to abandon those plans if one of the students has an issue or if the city of Mito needs their support. He asked for the Commissions input. Treasurer James Dinwiddie stated this comes down to a willingness to generate the funds to pay for that. Taline Coles expressed she also feels the fee that they charge the students is too high and she would like to see a smaller fee charged in the future and agrees the Commission will need to fundraise to do all that. In addition, Chair Al -Jamie stated he would like to change the way that the inbound students' $150 cash donation is processed. He would like to recommend that Commissioner Jackie Filbeck collect the money when the students arrive and use it as petty cash during the week that the students are here to cover any kind of incidental expenses. She could then return the remaining funds at the end of their stay along with the receipts. This includes paying for the expenses the Dinwiddie's spend on the tailgating and beach outing. Chairman Al -Jamie does not agree with having to advance any type of payment to the host parents, he thinks for anyone who would like to host this year, they are Anaheim Sister City Commission June 4, 2018 Page 4 going to be tough in choosing the homestay families. If someone wants to host two kids, but cannot afford the gas money to drive them to the downtown center, then they should wait a couple of years until they are in the position to do that. Chair Al -Jamie feels if they talk to host families ahead of time, screen them, and make sure they are in a position to take on this responsibility and be reimbursed for it later, it should not be a problem. MOTION: Chair Anthony Al -Jamie offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Jackie Filbeck AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 12-0; Absent: Eric Bullard, Barbara Gerovac and Anna Piercy) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby agree to pay from this point forward for the hotel stay for the two chaperones that accompany outbound students to Japan in an amount not to exceed $1,000.00 (cost is estimated at $50.00 a night per person in separate rooms). MOTION: Chair Anthony Al -Jamie offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Taline Cole AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 11-0; Abstained: Jackie Filbeck; Absent: Eric Bullard, Barbara Gerovac and Anna Piercy) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby give their approval for Commissioner Jackie Filbeck to collect the $150 in -cash donation from each inbound student and use it to cover incidentals during the students' stay, including expenses incurred by the Dinwiddie's. The Commission was provided with a copy of the Itinerary for the Anaheim Outbound Exchange Students. The students are scheduled to arrive in Japan on Sunday, June 24 and return to Anaheim on Tuesday, July 3. The itinerary includes visits to Mito Sakuranomaki High School, the Ibaraki University, the Mito Art Tower, Inari First Elementary, Mito Fourth Jr. School, and Chigakukan Secondary School; a City tour (Anaheim Square, Anaheim St. Prefectural Building); meetings with the Mayor of Mito and with Mito exchange students; a day in Tokyo; host family time; Kimono wearing; and, a buffet party at the Mito International Center. A 3 -minute video of the 2017 Anaheim Students' visit to Mito was presented to the Commission. A second video was presented, this one of the Mito students' visit to Anaheim in 2017. Chair Al -Jaime advised they will have eight students visiting from Japan, and so far, they have only received two applications for hosting. Hosting is a big responsibility, they really need someone who is in a position to be able to do it right and to ensure the safety of the kids. They will need to develop best practices and he is going to work with the Vice Chair throughout the process to make sure best practices are implemented. The two chaperones will be staying at a hotel. Anaheim Sister City Commission June 4, 2018 Page 5 The outbound students leave on June 23 and come back on July 3. The inbound students arrive on July 20 and leave on July 30. Commissioner Jackie Filbeck reported they have all the rooms booked at the Downtown Community Center for every day that the inbound students are here and all the goodie -bag items have been secured. The following activities have been confirmed: the Welcome Reception on Friday, July 20 at approximately 6pm; a meeting with Mayor Tait on July 24 at 2pm; the Sayonara Dinner on Friday, July 27 and the Angel game on July 28 with a tailgate party before that. Possible activities this year for the inbound students include: a beach party, a visit to the Mito "Friendship" Bridge; lunch at In -N -Out; a tour of the Anaheim History Room at the Muzeo; a tour of a fire station; lunch at the Packing House; a day at Disneyland including World of Color; a trip to the OC Fair; a Yakult tour and lunch; shopping at Downtown Disney; Angel's game, stadium tour and shopping; and, a flower arrangement class given by Vice Chair Lori Dinwiddie. Commissioner Filbeck recommended that the Commission look over the schedule and let her know what events/activities they would like to attend. The Commission would like to have all the commissioners at the Welcome Reception, at the beach party, at the tailgate party, and at the Sayonara dinner. Chair Al -Jamie introduced the two chaperones, Hannah Al -Jamie and Melissa Zazueta. Hannah stated she is a high school teacher at Orange Lutheran. She has spent a lot of time traveling including a couple trips to Japan; she also lived in Germany for four years and traveled around Europe. She graduated from UCLA and she did her masters in Germany. Melissa stated she is from Orange County. She has family in Anaheim and La Habra. In high school, she was part of the Sister Organization called People to People, where she had the opportunity to go to Europe. She went to Fullerton College and did a semester in Madrid, Spain and then she transferred to UC Berkley and graduated from there. She did a year in Rio de Janeiro, where she studied and researched for her senior thesis. She is currently a substitute teacher in La Habra and subs K -8a' grade. She traveled to China, seven years ago. She is very excited for this opportunity. V. REVIEW OBJECTIVES OF SUBCOMMITTEES AND APPOINT NEW SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS Chair Al -Jamie recommended removing the existing subcommittees and replacing them with a Fundraising Subcommittee, an Inbound Subcommittee and an Outbound Subcommittee. In addition, he would like to get people committed to those three subcommittees. Anaheim Sister City Commission June 4, 2018 Page 6 After some discussion by the Sister City Commission, the following action was taken: MOTION: Commissioner Taline Cole offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Lori Dinwiddie AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 11-0; Absent: Eric Bullard, Jackie Filbeck, Barbara Gerovac and Anna Piercy) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby create two subcommittees, the Inbound Exchange and the Outbound Exchange. MOTION: Commissioner Taline Cole offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Jim Dinwiddie AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 11-0; Absent: Eric Bullard, Jackie Filbeck, Barbara Gerovac and Anna Piercy) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby nominate Lori Dinwiddie to chair the Outbound Exchange Subcommittee. Chair Al -Jamie, Treasurer Lori Dinwiddie, Commissioner Brigitte Rodgers and Larry Larsen volunteered to serve on the Inbound Subcommittee. The Commission decided to continue discussion of this item to the next meeting so that commissioners have an opportunity to think about what subcommittee they would like to serve on. VI. UPDATE ON PUDONG Chair Al -Jamie wrote the letter to Pudong and Greg Garcia is going to forward that on. He noted that in the letter, he is inviting Pudong back and is reminding them they signed the MOU and would like to make it a formal celebration of it. VII. UPDATE ON VITORIA-GASTEIZ Chair Al -Jamie wrote the letter to Vitoria-Gasteiz to try to and rekindle that relationship and Greg Garcia is going to forward that on. VIII. AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE REVIEW & REPORTS a. Cultural/Government Exchange Subcommittee None. b. Marketing/Fundraising Subcommittee None. c. Economic Development Subcommittee None. Anaheim Sister City Commission June 4, 2018 Page 7 IX. PUBLIC COMMENT David Bracey announced Sister Cities International is going to be having their annual conference in Colorado, August 2 through the 4. Registration is $650.00. Furthermore, he thanked Commissioners Filbeck, Anderson, Piercy and Dinwiddie for purchasing tickets for the raffle for the SoCal Sister Cities, but he was sorry to report that on May 19 they held the drawing and no one from Anaheim won the round trip ticket to Tokyo. SoCal Sister cities will be holding their next meeting on September 15 in Laguna Beach. X. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Chair Al -Jamie reported a goodwill delegation from Mito, Japan would be visiting Anaheim, October 14 through October 17. Treasurer Dinwiddie requested an invitation to host students be sent out to City employees. She will send Greg Garcia the invite to send out citywide. XI. STAFF COMMENTS Kimberly Kelemen reminded the Commission that all host families and chaperones need to be finger printed. XII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m. to Monday, June 25, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at the Anaheim City Hall, City Manager's Office Large Conference Room.