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Sister City 2016/09/26CITY OF ANAHEIM SISTER CITY COMMISSION MINUTES September 26, 2016 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: GUESTS PRESENT: Anthony Al -Jamie, Paul Anderson, Pepe Avila, Taline Cole, Lori Dinwiddie, Julia Erdkamp, Jackie Filbeck, Yanni Guo, Matthew Hicks, Debbie Julian, Mark Lopez, Jerry O'Keefe, Anna Piercy and Jeanne Tran Brian O'Neal Greg Garcia, City Manager's Office Erin Ryan, City Manager's Office Maggie Solorio, City Manager's Office None Agenda Posting A complete copy of the Anaheim Sister City Commission Agenda was posted on Friday, September 23, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. at Anaheim City Hall. Public Input: Chair Debbie Julian explained that members of the public are invited to address the Anaheim Sister City Commission and will be called upon under Agenda Item No. XL Public Comment. L CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Anaheim Sister City Commission (ASCO) was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chair Debbie Julian on Monday, September 26, 2016 at the Anaheim City Manager's Office, City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 7th Floor, Anaheim, California. IL OATH OF OFFICE Erin Ryan administered the Oath of Office to the newest member of the Sister City Commission, Yanni Guo who was appointed by the City Council on September 13, 2016 with term expiring on June 30, 2019. Anaheim Sister City Commission September 26, 2016 Page 2 Commissioner Yanni Guo introduced herself. She moved to Anaheim two months ago with her husband. She wanted to get involved in the community and thought the Sister City Commission would be a perfect fit for her because she has lived abroad, has traveled extensively in Asia, served in Hong Kong and she thought she could offer a fresh perspective to the board. She added she feels honored to be a part of the group and looks forward to working with all of them. III. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Greg Garcia noted the current officers are Debbie Julian serving as Chair of the Commission and Jeanne Tran serving as Treasurer and that there is a Vice Chair vacancy. MOTION: Commissioner Jackie Filbeck nominated Anthony Al -Jamie as Vice Chair seconded by Commissioner Anna Piercy AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 14 -0; Absent: Brian O'Neal) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby elect Commissioner Anthony Al -Jamie as Vice Chair of the Sister City Commission. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Commissioner Jackie Filbeck offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Taline Cole AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 13 -0; Abstained: Anna Piercy; Absent: Brian O'Neal) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby approve the minutes from the ASCC meeting held on August 22, 2016 as presented. V. APPROVAL OF TREASURER'S REPORTS Treasurer Jeanne Tran noted the Treasurer's Report dated September 20, 2016 shows the updated numbers and the balance is at $11,074.32. The lines added show all the reimbursements that have been processed thus far, a few reimbursements are still pending and the exchange wire transfer from Mito had not yet been accounted for. Erin Ryan reported she connected the Anaheim Community Foundation directly with Mr. Wang so the they could connect their bank counterparts, in an effort to eliminate as many middlemen as possible. Erin will follow up. MOTION: Commissioner Anna Piercy offered a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Jerry O'Keefe AND MOTION CARRIED (Vote: 14-0; Absent: Brian O'Neal) that the Anaheim Sister City Commission does hereby approve the Treasurer's Report dated September 20, 2016 as presented. Anaheim Sister City Commission September 26, 2016 Page 3 VI. AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE REVIEW & REPORTS a. Cultural/Government Exchange Subcommittee None. b. Marketing/Fundraising Subcommittee None. c. Economic Development Subcommittee None. VII. AD HOC SUBCOMITTEE SIGN UPS a. Cultural & Government Exchange Subcommittee The objective of the Cultural & Government Exchange Subcommittee is to maintain the existing cultural exchange program, to develop new programs that allow for more collaboration and exchange opportunities for the public and government members of the current and future Sister Cities, and to plan and coordinate the delegation visits. Following a discussion, the following assignments were made: Lori Dinwiddie as Chair; Jackie Filbeck as Vice Chair of the Inbound Exchange; Jeanne Tran as Vice Chair of the Outbound Exchange; and Anthony Al -Jamie, Yanni Guo, Matthew Hicks and Anna Piercy as members. b. Marketing/Fundraising Subcommittee The objective of the Marketing/Fundraising Subcommittee is to raise awareness of the Sister City Commission through production of collateral and planning community outreach events. The following assignments were made: Pepe Avila as Chair; Taline Cole, Lori Dinwiddie, Julia Erdkamp, Debbie Julian and Mark Lopez as members. c. Economic Development Subcommittee The objective of the Economic Development Subcommittee is to create programs aimed at leveraging the business connections between Sister Cities and to plan various activities including fundraising. The following assignments were made: The Chair position was left vacant; Julia Erdkamp, Jackie Filbeck, Matthew Hicks and Mark Lopez as members. Anaheim Sister City Commission September 26, 2016 Page 4 VIII. MITO DELEGATION VISIT Greg Garcia reported staff sent Mr. Wang a schedule for the Mito Delegation Visit in October. The delegation flies in on Sunday, October 16 and leaves on Wednesday, October 19. When Greg Garcia met with Mr. Wang in July, Mr. Wang requested that the business part of their stay be done in one day. Since the dates lined up perfectly with a Council meeting on Tuesday, October 18, they agreed to do a noon reception on Tuesday and the delegation would have Monday to do whatever they wished. Staff scheduled a luncheon to celebrate the 401' anniversary with Commission and Council members, and then the delegation would tour ARTIC and Angel Stadium of Anaheim and attend the Council meeting for a nice presentation. Mr. Wang is now asking for tickets for the delegation to go to Disneyland on Monday. Commissioner Al -Jamie mentioned Mr. Wang is also interested in visiting a school and touring the Anaheim Convention Center. Greg mentioned that was easy to incorporate. Staff is going to follow up with Mr. Wang to finalize the schedule. Greg also stated that on the September 27 Council Agenda, there is an item for Council's consideration to rename 42nd Street to Mito Way. If there is opportunity to speak about this item, Greg will mention it was discussed with the Commission and that everyone thought it was a good idea and a very worthy effort to commemorate the 401' anniversary of the sister city relationship with Mito. If the Council asks why this street, he will point out there is some symbolism because of its proximity to City Hall and that nobody's address will need to be changed. Also, there is an Anaheim Way, Anaheim Street and Anaheim Plaza in Mito. Further, staff will present a replica of the street sign to the delegation during the formal presentation at the Council meeting. Commissioner Al -Jamie suggested inviting the Consul General from Japan and offered to reach out to them and then will inform Mr. Wang if they are able to attend. Commissioner Mark Lopez suggested inviting former commissioners to the luncheon. Staff will reach out to former commissioners and asked Commissioners to also pass on the invitation to former Commissioners that they are in touch with. Anaheim Sister City Commission September 26, 2016 Page 5 IX. PRESENTATION BY MANGALA SAMARAWEERA, THE HONORABLE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA Greg Garcia gave some background on this item. He stated Mayor Tait had a meeting scheduled with the Foreign Minister from Sri Lanka and when they heard that there was a Sister City Commission meeting on the same day as their meeting, Al Jabbar asked if they could make a presentation and pitch the idea of a sister city relationship with Sri Lanka, so staff placed it on the agenda. Greg had an opportunity to speak to Al Jabbar before the meeting today and made him aware of the past process and how it takes two years sometimes and that the Commission will take its time to figure out if there is a match and that there is no right or wrong formula, it will just be whether it works or not. Mayor Tom Tait introduced Mangala Samaraweera, the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Anaheim Union High School District Board Member Al Jabbar. Mr. Al Jabbar thanked Mayor Tait and introduced Consul General of Sri Lanka in Los Angeles Mrs. Swarna Gunaratne and the Honorary Consul General of Sri Lanka in Texas, Susantha Shan Halamba. Mr. Jabbar, also from Sri Lanka, apologized for not having time to stay at the meeting and explained that when the Consul General expressed interest in having a sister city relationship, Mr. Jabbar thought what better city than Anaheim. Anaheim has a diverse community, a lot of people from Sri Lanka live in Anaheim, they also have a temple and a restaurant and many businesses. Mr. Jabbar wanted to introduce the delegation to the Mayor and to the Commission and stated he's going to have to come back at another time to make the full presentation because Mr. Samaraweera is on a tight schedule and has to leave. X. SISTER CITY INOUIRIES Commissioner Mark Lopez distributed information about Debre Berham, Ethiopia. He stated he was approached by a friend who was born in Ethiopia and asked if the Commission could consider a sister city relationship with Debre Berham. Commissioner Lopez mentioned he could not make any promises, but asked him for background information so that the Commission could consider it. He asked the Commission to review the information and to possibly have a discussion at the next meeting. He is going to invite his friend to attend the meeting in October to answer any questions the Commission may have. Greg Garcia proposed to have an agenda item at the October meeting that creates a group of people on this commission to start talking about criteria and to do research and leg work in order to figure out a process for considering sister cities. Anaheim Sister City Commission September 26, 2016 Page 6 XI. PUBLIC COMMENT None. XII. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Anthony Al -Jamie announced that on Saturday, November 5, Anaheim University is going to hold the Sister Cities SoCal meeting at their learning center on Tustin and La Palma. If the Commission wants to meet people who have a lot of experience with Sister City relationships, to please join them. The Commission requested an updated roster. Erin will send out an updated roster and an updated Ad Hoc Subcommittee list. XIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. to Monday, October 24, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. at the Anaheim City Hall, 7th Floor, City Manager's Office Large Conference Room.