McHenry Times

City of Woodstock Cultural and Social Awareness Commission met January 8.

Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:

I.Call To Order

II.Roll Call:

Commission Members Present: John Hudson, Jose’ Rivera, John Kendall, Juanita Vega, Joe Starzynski, and Chair William Donato.

Commission Members Absent: Ivy Sagrado.

Staff Present: Human Resources Director Debbie Schober and Chief Deputy City Clerk / Executive Assistant Jane Howie.

Others Present: none.

III.Public Comments:

IV.Acceptance Of Minutes: Motion by J. Starzynski, second by J. Rivera, to accept the Minutes from the October 3, 2017 meeting. Ayes: J. Hudson, J. Rivera, J. Kendall, J. Vega, J. Starzynski, and Chair W. Donato. Nays: none. Absentees: I. Sagrado. Abstentions: none. Minutes accepted.

V.Discussion Items:

A.Sister City (Comm. Rivera) Spoke to Councilman Saladin.

They are considering bringing the baseball team from Mexico to Woodstock this July to play in a tournament. There will be a need for assistance such as host families. J. Rivera said there’s a group that’s been doing this for over 20 years, however, they have not had a team from Mexico before. Mr. Rivera is assisting in this. W. Donato asked about Woodstock sending a team to Mexico. J. Rivera shared some information about Zacatecas, Mexico.

B.Update on Old Firehouse Initiative (Comm. Hudson) and Homelessness Discussions / Meetings.

J. Hudson said he was informed by Ms. Megan Bennett that the Center needs additional volunteers to work. J. Hudson will share Ms. Bennett’s contact email so that people can sign up to volunteer. D. Schober mentioned a link that was on the City’s website about signing up to volunteer for OFAC. J. Vega suggested OFAC list what type of volunteers they’re looking for. In response, D. Schober said they’re looking for general volunteers to monitor the Center while it’s open.

W. Donato mentioned the Council Workshop and the Roundtable meetings in November. D. Schober added that Mayor Sager updated those in attendance with regard to what has transpired thus far with the homeless situation in Woodstock. The Council Workshop was more of a discussion of Council members as well as members of the public along with Social Service providers.

W. Donato asked the Commissioners if they had any suggestions for assisting with the Center. D. Schober said that Mayor Sager believes this Commission has a voice, and he’d like this group to assist in alleviating some of the issues. She added that this is not just a City of Woodstock issue; it’s something that the County should be closely assisting with. Once this takes hold, some of the pressure will be lifted from Woodstock’s responsibility. It’s about controlling some of the behaviors that occurred during the summer of 2017. Knowing that the City is not going to tolerate those behaviors, liaisons in the police department have been assigned. J. Rivera said the Roundtable explained a lot of the items that he had been confused about. Many of the managers of the Social Services were in attendance and they were able to share their experiences up to this point. W. Donato said it’s important for all of us to hear that these issues are not unique to Woodstock, and that these issues are not new. J. Rivera said his wife used to work with the Housing Authority, and reiterated that this is a county-wide issue, not a City of Woodstock issue alone. D. Schober will keep the Commission updated.

D. Schober said this Commission is a sort of ambassador for the homeless situation. Woodstock is trying to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. The City is looking for additional ways to correct the issues. D. Schober shared some of the information that was discussed at the Council Workshop with regard to homeless issues. J. Kendall asked what more can we do to continue to raise awareness. W. Donato said share with others that the City is doing what they can, and the homeless population has rights as well. J. Starzynski mentioned suggesting to people to read meeting Minutes, which are on the City’s website. J. Kendall said there are a lot of people that are not tuned in to the issues.

W. Donato mentioned that Mayor Sager said he’d be putting a letter out to residents explaining the homeless situation and what has been done so far to handle the problems. J. Hudson said there really aren’t a lot of homeless people; however people don’t want to see it. D. Schober said OFAC might not be in the best location, but it pulled the people off the Square. J. Starzynski said the City came up with one solution by moving these people to OFAC, which provides needed social services. W. Donato said he’s proud that the City did this (OFAC).

C.Christmas Around the World / Lighting of the Square (Comm. Starzynski) – planning for 2018. Mr. Starzynski said about 4-5 stores expressed an interest in this event. He can start earlier this year with contacting business owners. J. Vega said she talked to Chamber Director Danielle Gulli, who advised her to keep in touch with her about this type of event. Work together with the Chamber and the local businesses. Preparation needs to begin in the very near future. J. Starzynski said they should start working together with the Chamber. J. Vega said this would be an added feature of the event, a cultural focus; window decorations on store fronts. Ms. Vega will find out when the next event meeting is being held so that this group can get together and share their ideas. J. Starzynski mentioned the possibility of having a salsa dancing event at Flores Banquets that evening as well. J. Vega shared some of the additional ideas that the Hispanic Connections have been discussing. J. Vega explained some of the past and upcoming events of Hispanic Connections, including salsa night. It is their desire to raise enough funds that they can sponsor a Latina candidate for the Miss Woodstock Pageant.

D.Climate Mayors (Chair Donato) Paris Agreement,

W. Donato met with Mayor Sager. Mayor indicated that he would be willing to sign on to such an agreement himself, but does not wish to bring this issue before the City Council at the present time.

E.Outcome of discussion with Chief Lieb RE: Video on City’s FB page (D. Schober) Sanctuary Cities, a state policy, there’s a video. D. Schober said Chief Lieb does not want this video on the City’s / Police Department’s website. Both J. Vega and D. Schober explained some of the information included in the video. W. Donato expressed a concern that perhaps some residents are afraid to call the police department to report a problem as they have a fear of being arrested or deported. J. Vega said there is a social worker available to assist with these issues. D. Schober said the underlying piece is that if you are not doing anything wrong, one has no reason to be concerned about this. D. Schober mentioned that the police officers are to refer residents to the social worker, should there be a need for this type of service. J. Vega will look into this further. J. Hudson said there was a vigil at the County Jail recently, including a walk; this is the County Seat. The vigil was specifically about one inmate and the circumstances surrounding that situation. J. Vega explained how once someone has done something wrong and they get arrested, they then go to the county jail, and they have to go through the court system. D. Schober explained that someone arrested for serious crimes, documented criminals, can cause issues if Woodstock becomes a Sanctuary City. The City of Woodstock does not hold traffic stops to check people’s papers. Woodstock Police Department’s main goal is to keep people safe. J. Vega said she will continue to share the video and get the word out and put people’s concerns to rest.

F.Future Agenda Items

VI.Other Discussion Items: none.

VII.Adjourn:

Motion by J. Hudson, second by J. Kendall, to adjourn this Quarterly Meeting of the Cultural & Social Awareness Commission. Ayes: J. Hudson, J. Rivera, J. Kendall, J. Vega, J. Starzynski, and Chair W. Donato. Nays: none. Absentees: I. Sagrado. Abstentions: none. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 5:05 pm.

http://www.woodstockil.gov/meetings