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Home My WebLink About20180709 - VIII-C-2 - City Partnership with ISD 200 and YMCA on Community Conversations City Council Memorandum To: Mayor Hicks & City Councilmembers From: Melanie Mesko Lee, City Administrator Date: July 3, 2018 Item: Creating a Welcoming Committee initiative Council Action Requested: Approve financial support for the above initiative; $9,500 for 2018 and consideration of $9,500 as part of the 2019 budget. Background Information: The City Council held a workshop on June 8 to discuss this initiative. The issue was forwarded to the Finance Committee, who reviewed the YMCA proposal to work with the community on a multi-faceted initiative and community conversation to vision what an inclusive community can be. It is proposed that the School District and the City share in the initial investment to this initiative—a total commitment of $38,000 shared between the two organizations ($19,000 each). The Finance Committee met on June 25 to discuss the financial proposal and recommends allocating $9,500 in 2018 and including $9,500 in the 2019 budget process for consideration. Financial Impact: $19,000 over two budget cycles. Advisory Commission Discussion: N/A Council Committee Discussion: Finance Committee met on June 25, 2018. Attachments: Background material as part of the June 8 Council Workshop. City Council Memorandum To: Mayor Hicks & City Councilmembers From: Melanie Mesko Lee, City Administrator Date: June 8, 2018 Item: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshop June 11, 2018 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Volunteer Room Background Information: TIMELINE November 2016—the Hastings School District, led by HMS Principal Mark Zuzek and Community Education Director Mary O’Brien began an on-going dialogue about diversity, inclusion, and access to resources. An initial meeting was held the morning of November 7 (letter attached). At that meeting, Jane Venderpoel from Dakota County provided demographic and socio-economic indicators for Dakota County and Hastings. Most members of our management team attended this meeting and Council was advised of this initiative in an email from me dated November 7, 2016. 2017 Throughout 2017, a number of community events were held throughout the community. My records do not list the exact dates of the events. One session was titled “Understanding and Recognizing Racial Bias & White Privilege.” In December 2017, Mark Zuzek reached out again to Mayor Hicks and me to discuss how to continue the discussion on diversity, inclusion, and equity. The intent was to discuss designing a joint effort in Spring 2018. Councilmember Leifeld was also invited to join the conversation—the first meeting was held January 4, 2018. In addition to the names above, Tim Collins, Kari Gorr, Kelsey Waits, and Bill Spinelli were also invited. 2018 These meetings continued every 3-4 weeks throughout the months of February and March. During this time frame, Derrick Jagger (YMCA) and Lee Stoffel (Communications) also joined the table to assist. The group discussed many ways to foster a community discussion—from a “welcome week” to printing signs to adopting a proclamation. Throughout the many meetings, there was a desire to bring the issue before the community for a broader dialogue. The YMCA has an Equity Innovation Center and has developed a number of resources and training related to diversity, equity, and inclusion that Derrick Jaeger brought forward to share with the group. The Y prepared a proposal to provide assistance in a multi-faceted community initiative. That proposal is attached and Derrick will be joining us on June 11 to be able to answer questions. On Sunday, April 29 a community kick-off event was held at the Hastings High School. Approximately 250 people including City Councilmembers, City Staff, School Board members, local business people, and the public at large attended and shared their thoughts on the topic. Based on the feedback received, follow up discussions are intended to be held. Monday, June 25 6-9 p.m. HHS Commons Community training session, led by the YMCA Equity Innovation Center, “The Hidden Brain and Unconscious Bias” Monday, July 16 6-7:30 p.m. HHS Commons Continuation of April 29 Community Conversation: Review the group feedback from the April 29 session and dig deeper into the main topics that emerged Analysis In addition to the demographic data illustrating the changing demographics within not only Dakota County but Hastings specifically, additional information and/or feedback relating to this initiative supports discussion on the City’s role: • Business Retention & Expansion visits—one of the prime concerns expressed from our business community is the lack of workforce. There are businesses that are holding back on expansion plans, not because of lack of business but due to lack of workforce. • Community Survey—recent survey feedback suggests that an opportunity lies with the “Community Characteristic” of “Openness and Acceptance.” • Community Image & Livability—one of Hastings strengths is how close knit it is. Councilmember feedback as part of the recent discussions on strategic goals is being an accepting and welcoming community, attractive to young families. • Retention—data indicates that new residents/families moving to Hastings are increasingly not white. That number has grown and will likely continue to grow. While it’s important to bring people to Hastings for our economic and community viability, we also need to work to make sure they feel welcome and connected so they stay here, buy homes here, and keep jobs here. • Attendance and feedback from April 29 Event—strong attendance and continued inquiries/feedback from the event suggests that there is support for the discussion. Financial Impact: None at this point. Any financial support of the City will need to be discussed and approved by the City Council. To participate in a community engagement process using a facilitator through the YMCA program, the City’s contribution is being requested at $19,000. If supported, this contribution could be split between two budget years. Attachments: November 7, 2016 Initiative kick off letter Demographic presentation from Dakota County YMCA Diversity & Inclusion Plan YMCA Diversity and Inclusion Proposal Feedback from April 29 community event Hastings Public Schools INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 200 1000 11TH STREET WEST HASTINGS, MN 55033-2597 Phone (651) 480-7000 Fax (651) 480-7004 BRIDGE TO SUCCESS Tim Collins SUPERINTENDENT October 24, 2016 Dear Community Leader, Thank you for your interest in participating in an on-going dialogue about diversity, inclusion, and access to resources. On Monday, November 7th from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. we will host an initial session. The meeting will be hosted at the Tilden Community Center. This session will feature Ms. Jane Vanderpoel from Dakota County. She has a presentation that illustrates accurate data about the state, Dakota County, ISD 200 and the City of Hastings. The presentation will be hosted at the Tilden Community Center. If there are others in your organization that you believe may be interested in this information, we encourage you to invite them to join you. We intend that this initiative will become an important inter-agency/government collaboration. We are interested in identifying people early on in the process to meet several times per year, for an on-going basis. The broad goals of this initiative are: 1. to increase awareness and provide accurate information between and among the agencies and governments in Hastings and the surrounding area. 2. to improve our capacity to understand and serve all of the members of the community in a manner that in inclusive, respectful, and responsive. We thank you in advance for your time and your interest in this initiative. We will be asking two open questions and gather feedback. As you prepare for the meeting, we invite you to consider the following: • What do you know about diversity, inclusion, and access that others would benefit from knowing? • What are the most common, or most detrimental inaccurate assumptions? • What are the most burdensome barriers to access to the members of our community? • Diversity can be identified based ethnic, racial, sexual, religious, language competence, socio- economic, mental health, racial, and gender identification status. All of these may limit inclusion or access for disaffected persons. What is the present capacity to understand and serve persons of diverse status? Thank you. Should you have any questions, or if you are unable to attend this first meeting, but you want to continue to be included in the on-going dialogue please contact us at 651-480-7066 or mzuzek@hastings.k12.mn.us. Thank you, Mark A. Zuzek Mary O’Brien, Principal, Hastings Public Schools Director of Community Education