McHenry Times

City of Woodstock Cultural and Social Awareness Commission Met April 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the commission:

A Special Meeting of the City of Woodstock Cultural and Social Awareness Commission was called to order at 4:20 PM by Chairperson Juanita Vega. This meeting was held per the Governor’s Emergency Order due to COVID-19 with all members, Staff, and the public attending remotely.

A roll call was taken.

COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS: None

COMMISSION MEMBERS ATTENDING REMOTELY: John Kendall, Jaci Krandel, Lorna Wolff, and Chairperson Juanita Vega.

COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Jose Rivera and Joe Starzynski

STAFF PRESENT IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS: None

STAFF ATTENDING REMOTELY: Human Resources Director/Staff Liaison Deb Schober and City Clerk Cindy Smiley

OTHERS ATTENDING REMOTELY: Crystal Squires and Cynthia Kanner

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion by J. Kendall, second by L. Wolff, to approve the minutes of the February 22, 2021 and the minutes of the March 8, 2021 meetings as presented.

Ayes: J. Kendall, J. Krandel, L. Wolff, and Chairperson Vega. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: J. Rivera and J. Starzynski. Motion carried.

4. DISCUSSION ITEMS

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Project

A general discussion ensued concerning the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Project.

Chairperson Vega stated at Tuesday’s meeting the City Council approved moving forward with the DEI Project. She noted they were happy with the project and believed it is a great idea for the City and the community, and that it could be a good example for the County.

Noting now the Commission needs to make this happen, Chairperson Vega stated the programs would begin in July, meaning the Commission has 2½ months to plan the Diversity Celebration Sundays, including getting them all scheduled. She noted the proposed schedule of topics as outlined on the agenda.

Chairperson Vega stated she would like to hear ideas from the Commissioners on how to proceed, noting one possibility would be to start planning dates beginning in July and assign a leader for each date who would contact leaders/presenters to develop an agenda for that specific date. She noted the topics for each date must be discussed with the presenters to determine whether dates need to be switched.

Commissioner Kendall opined the first step should be assigning an owner to each bullet point (topic). Chairperson Vega stated these leaders would contact people in the community.

Discussion ensued with Ms. Schober opining the first step should be to confirm the availability of Stage Left Café on these Sundays. Chairperson Vega stated she has spoken with Mr. Campbell at the Opera House, noting as of now the dates will be July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, and perhaps November 14. She noted September 12 is also the date of the Mexican Independence Day Celebration, opining this may be problematic and suggesting further discussion may be needed for this date. In response to her question of whether the Commission wishes to continue with the Sunday programs into the Spring of 2022, it was suggested this should be attempted with January being skipped. After further discussion, it was suggested the Commission should attempt to hold the Sunday Celebrations one Sunday per month July 2021 through March 2022 with the possible exception of September 2021 and January 2022.

Further discussion ensued of whether the Commission should proceed to set the dates first, or get the presenters first and work around their schedules.

Commissioner Wolff expressed concern with proceeding without more detail. She also stated she questions having Sundays dedicated to Religious Diversity and Cultural Diversity with two different leaders or representatives. She noted there are more than two religions and would not like to see the Commission handpick only two to represent religious diversity. Chairperson Vega suggested reaching out to Willow Creek and someone from the Catholic faith, opining this should not be a problem. Commissioner Krandel suggested reaching out to the Interfaith Ministries, which is made up of many different religions. Commissioner Wolff also opined it must be decided what kind of event this will be, i.e., will there be a panel with presenters, noting more people will mean a different format and how it is presented. Discussion ensued of how to proceed with multiple presenters or with multiple groups.

Chairperson Vega suggested assigning the Commissioners to each take on a Sunday/subject and oversee that specific program. The Commissioner could then have a discussion with the leaders/presenters of whether that date will work, what that Sunday would look like; what they have in mind for their Sunday, what works for them, what they will do, and what they will present. She stated if it is found a certain date does not work for a particular topic, this could be discussed and revised at the next meeting.

Ms. Schober opined as the religious category is so big and this is an educational opportunity, having a panel of individuals from different religions present information on their beliefs would be good. She further opined having the Interfaith Group involved could possibly give the event the biggest group of diverse religions.

Commissioner Krandel agreed to be the lead Commissioner for the Religious Diversity Sunday Celebration.

Commissioner Wolff stated, although she has resigned, she will continue to work on the Homeless topic until her replacement has been named or for as long as the Commission wishes. Chairperson Vega suggested perhaps that topic could include hearing from someone who was formerly homeless. In response to Commissioner Wolff’s comment that someone asked her if this topic includes food insecurity, Commissioner Krandel opined it is important to learn that food insecurity and homelessness could happen to anyone. Chairperson Vega stated food insecurity should go together and be included with the homeless topic.

Topic/Sunday leaders were discussed. It was agreed Commissioner Krandel should lead the Religious Diversity group and Commissioner Wolff will lead Homelessness/Food Insecurity.

Commissioner Kendall stated he has submitted Crystal Squires’ name for appointment to the Commission and asked if the timeline was known for approval of her appointment. He noted she would be an ideal member to take the lead on Gender Diversity, stating he would then move to another topic. Ms. Schober stated the Mayor has spoken with her and agrees with her appointment. She opined this appointment will be made before he leaves office.

It was agreed Crystal Squires be named leader of the Gender Diversity topic. Commissioner Kendall stated he will take on the Racial Diversity topic, reaching out to Woodstock’s Standing Up Against Racism group and the person identified by Chairperson Vega. Commissioner Rivera will lead Cultural Diversity. Chairperson Vega along with Cynthia Kanner will lead Environmental Diversity and will assist with all topics. It was noted the Age Diversity topic remains open.

Chairperson Vega stated now that topic leaders have been appointed all should take the next two weeks to contact the group(s) for their topic, noting the dates are on the calendar.

Discussion again ensued of the September 12th date. Noting there are other cultures, Chairperson Vega opined perhaps there should not be a DEI event on that date because the Mexican Independence Day Celebration will be a big event. Discussion ensued with no decision.

Commissioner Wolff suggested including a separate category of Mobility Disabled.

Chairperson Vega suggested the Commissioners ask their groups for two or three possible dates in a priority list. Commissioner Wolff asked for a general format that will be used for the Sundays that she could share with her group leaders. Chairperson Vega stated the goal of these programs is to educate the public regarding the diversities, but also focusing on similarities; and it is our wish to know what everyone’s values are. In response to Commissioner Wolff’s question concerning the amount of time allotted to the speakers, Chairperson Vega opined that will be difficult to determine as each Sunday Celebration of Diversity will probably be different. She further opined each group will have things they wish to bring to the table, suggesting these things will be totally different for the Cultural Diversity Sunday than for the Racial Diversity Sunday as an example. Ms. Schober suggested there should be some structure the Commissioners can share with their group leaders.

Commissioner Kendall agreed, also opining it would be good to know how many people from the community will attend these presentations. He stated the Commission should also know how many people will be or can be on a panel. Chairperson Vega opined this would depend upon how many people are interested in participating on a particular topic, noting each topic may be different.

Chairperson Vega stated for now, Commissioners should concentrate on their subjects, who is interested, what would they like to talk about, and what they would like the community to know, opining this will determine how the individual Sunday Celebrations will go. She stated the Commissioners will have to meet with the leaders to find out what they want to do.

In response to a question from Commissioner Wolff, Chairperson Vega opined the Sunday Celebrations will last between one and two hours.

Ms. Schober stated Mr. Campbell has stated there are no specific dates reserved at Stage Left Café for the DEI events, and would like to know specific dates and times, and whether the rental fee would be paid. She stated currently all dates being discussed are available with a fee of $100 for each event, up to five hours. Food may be catered, but all beverages must be bought at the café.

Concerning funds and sponsors, Chairperson Vega stated she feels sure the Commission can secure sponsors for these events, opining there are many companies that would like to participate. She suggested that the Commissioners speak with the leaders of their groups about finding sponsors to pay the Opera House fee for that Sunday.

Chairperson Vega opined it will not be difficult to work on finding sponsors simultaneous with working on the programs, talking about her past experience organizing events. Ms. Schober suggested sending a communication to the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses as soon as possible. Commissioner Krandel suggested sending a note to various businesses as they may wish to give their Staff an incentive if they attend the event. She also suggested videoing the presentations so that businesses can share it with their employees, as they are interested in these subjects and want their employees to be educated about them.

Chairperson Vega stated she will put something together for the next meeting to send to various businesses and also to solicit sponsorships. She stated she will also create a preliminary flyer for marketing the event that can be finalized when the dates are decided upon. In response to a question from Chairperson Vega, Commission Krandel stated she will assist with the sponsors. Commissioner Kendall stated he will help with the marketing flyer.

Discussion ensued of the time and length of the events. It was the consensus of the Commission to begin the events at 2:00 PM with a length of 1 or 2 hours depending upon the topic.

Discussion ensued of the frequency of Commission meetings and the date for the next meeting. It was the consensus of the Commission to hold the next special meeting at 4:15 PM on Monday, April 26, 2021. Chairperson Vega noted topics for that meeting will include further discussion of today’s items, review of the responses from the community topic leaders, and further discussion of sponsorships/marketing. She reviewed the Commissioners are asked to: 1) Contact leaders for their subjects to gauge their interest and availability; 2) Secure three possible dates for their individual topic in order of priority; 3) Find out an idea of what the leader wants the community to know about their topic so the Commissioner can get an idea of how to organize that particular Sunday.

In response to Commissioner Kendall’s statement that it may be difficult to get a commitment in two weeks, Chairperson Vega stated she has spoken with several organizations and found them to be very interested and motivated about this opportunity.

In response to a question from Chairperson Vega, it was the consensus of the Commission to push out agenda item 4e to a later date as a wrap up to the DEI Project.

Public Comments

There were no comments forthcoming from the Public.

Other Discussion Items

Ms. Schober stated there are funds available for name tags and business cards for the Commission, asking all Commissioners to e-mail their information including name, phone number, and e-mail. Commissioner Krandel stated she would like a name tag, but does not need business cards. Commissioner Wolff stated she would like neither. Ms. Schober asked each commissioner to tell her if they would like a name tag, business cards, or both.

ADJOURN

Motion by J. Krandel, second by J. Kendall, to adjourn this meeting of the Cultural and Social Awareness Commission to a Special Meeting on Monday, April 26, 2021 at 4:15 PM. Ayes: J. Kendall, J. Krandel, L. Wolff, and Chairperson Vega. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: J. Rivera and J. Starzynski. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 5:33 PM.

https://www.woodstockil.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/cultural_amp_social_awareness_commission/meeting/42971/f_-_04-12-21_csa_minutes_final_-_part_1_of_1_-_minutes.pdf