01-12-21 Rising TIDES Minutes Rising TIDES Task Force
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 5:19 pm by Staff Liaison Kirsten Santelices.
Roll Call
Members present: Joelle Allen, Ajani Woodson, Ruth Paradise, Melissa Johnson, Brad Taylor-
White, Amber Alexander, Alex Moreno, and Myat Thanda Tun
Members absent: Sheri Hixon, Fartun Hussein, and Sam Powers
Staff present: Kirsten Santelices, Human Resources Director and Kiarra Zackery, Equity and
Inclusion Manager
Approval of Agenda and December 8, 2020 Meeting Minutes
MOTION by Member Paradise to approve the agenda and December 8, 2020 meeting
minutes. Seconded by Member Taylor-White. Motion carried 8-0.
Announcements
Staff Santelices reviewed the Building an Equitable Golden Valley Quarterly Conversations process
and the plan for the Q1 event. Chair Allen shared that the Task Force will be involved with planning
these events moving forward. Chair Allen suggested that the Task Force create subcommittees to
plan going forward. Task Force members were receptive and discussed ways to get community input
on future conversations. Staff responded that a place can be placed on the website for people to go
and provide feedback.
Chair Allen suggested that the Q2 topic focus around equity for individuals with disabilities and Task
Force members agreed to work on the economic systems and impact on individuals with disabilities.
Members Woodson, Paradise, and Moreno volunteered to work on this topic. The Task Force will
spend 30 minutes formalizing at the February meeting. Staff Zackery will also provide project
management structure for future use.
Subcommittee Action Planning Update
Member Paradise provided ideas about potentially implementing a welcome committee post-
pandemic and in the interim creating a welcome letter that can be shared with new residents as part
of their water bills and with apartment managers. The group discussed what the letter may look like
and decided that a statement and sharing the City’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
would be preferable to attempting to perfect a list of amenities within Golden Valley. More
discussion revealed that this letter could include the links to the City’s social media sites and the
website. The subcommittee will work on a draft for the next meeting. Staff will share with
Communications and City Management team for potential use.
January 12, 2021 – 5:15 pm
Via Cisco WebEx
MEETING MINUTES – Rising TIDES Task Force
January 12, 2021
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Member Taylor-White shared briefly that work on board and commission recruitment practices
would continue, particularly after a meeting with the communications team.
Chair Allen briefly shared that the subcommittee will connect with staff about upcoming
bids/RFPs/contract opportunities to discuss current processes and potentially provide some
recommendations. Staff Zackery shared with the group some of the initiatives in this area that staff
are currently working on, including: intentionality with advertisements; identifying barriers of our
current processes; and considering how contracts are written. Additionally, staff will be using
measurement tools to apply the concepts above to five contracts over the course of 2021.
The Task Force will continue to provide subcommittee updates at future meetings.
Staff Zackery shared two announcements: Sweet Potato Comfort Pie event staff reached out for
volunteer facilitators and the City HRC purchased tickets to the MLK Breakfast.
Adjournment
MOTION by Vice Chair Alexander. Seconded by Member Thanda Tun. Meeting
adjourned at 6:19 pm.
_______________________________
Joelle Allen, Chair
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Kirsten Santelices, Human Resources Director