* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. GOOD EVENING. [00:00:01] GOOD EVENING. UH, WE ARE HERE, UH, FOR THE MEETING OF THE MULTICULTURAL COMMISSION. WE ARE IN THE WORK SESSION ROOM AT CITY HALL 200 NORTH FIFTH STREET, GARLAND, TEXAS, SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2026. AND AT 6 0 7, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. OUR FIRST, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM AUGUST THE 20TH. SO IF YOU COULD TAKE A FEW MOMENTS AND REVIEW THE MINUTES IN OUR PACKET. AND ANGELA, EVERYBODY IS REVIEWING THAT ONE. CHANGE I WILL MAKE JUST FOR THIS AGENDA, IT SAYS JULY 16TH. OKAY. CORRECT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND IF WE'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES, MAY I GET A MOTION OF APPROVAL? SO MOVED. AND MAY I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU. BEEN MOVED BY MS. KIMBER LANE AND APPROVED BY, OR SECONDED BY MR. ARTHUR. ALRIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS OUR TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS AND SEEING IS THAT THERE IS NO ONE HERE. UH, WE WILL GO ON INTO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS COMMISSION, REPORTS, UPDATES, STAFF UPDATES, AND PAST AND FUTURE, UH, UPDATES AS WELL. UH, SO DURING THIS TIME, UH, WOULD ASK IF ANYONE HAS ATTENDED ANY ITEMS, UH, SINCE THE LAST TIME WE GATHERED IN AUGUST. IF YOU COULD SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR ACTIVITIES, WHAT THEY WERE, WHAT YOU ARE, UM, BRINGING BACK TO THIS COMMISSION BY WAY OF INFORMATION AND ANY ACTIONS THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND. I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN , SO I WASN'T AT THE LAST, AM I, I WASN'T AT THE LAST MEETING, BUT I, UH, AND IT'S NOT ON HERE, BUT THE LABOR DAY PARADE RIGHT ON THE FLOAT WITH OUR CHURCH. AND IT WAS VERY, VERY WELL ATTENDED. I WAS SURPRISED IT WAS SO HOT AND PEOPLE WERE OUT. THAT'S AWESOME. IT WAS WONDERFUL. AWESOME. ALL RIGHT. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY ITEMS THAT THEY HAVE ATTENDED? ANY EVENTS? MR. MOSES, YOUR REAL ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, SIR? YES. UM, PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND I HIT YOU. YES, THERE WAS, UM, A BACK TO SCHOOL, SEVERAL BACK TO SCHOOL EVENTS THAT I ATTENDED TO IN AUGUST WITH GISD WITH OUR ORGANIZATION PARTNERS WITH SCHOOLS. SO WE, WE DID ONE WITH BUSTY MIDDLE SCHOOL, DID ONE WITH SELLERS, WEB MIDDLE SCHOOL, SEVERAL OF THOSE, UM, THINGS THAT I HAVE SEEN IN, UH, THOSE KIND OF, UH, EVENTS WAS THAT THERE'S SUCH A NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW TO BE RESOURCED WITH THE ITEMS THAT THE FAMILIES NEED FOR SCHOOL. AND SUCH AS UNIFORMS LIKE GDS GOTTEN VERY STRICT WITH HOW THEY WANT THEIR UNIFORMS TO BE. UM, STUDENTS ARE, SOME SCHOOLS ARE NOW GOING TO WEAR, UM, WHATEVER YOUR GRADE IS, YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC UNIFORM FOR THAT GRADE. IT'S CAUSING A LITTLE BIT OF ANXIETY FOR PARENTS. 'CAUSE NOW THEY'RE ANTICIPATING THE SEVENTH GRADE COMING UP OR THE NEXT GRADE COMING UP, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO REBUY ONCE AGAIN FOR FAMILIES. SO, UM, THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT. UM, JUST SEEING THAT THERE'S RE A LACK OF RESOURCE FOR SOME OF THE FAMILIES. UM, AND, AND, UM, AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO STEP UP AND MEET THAT NEED. RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR SHARING. UH, APPRECIATE THAT. UH, THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD, UH, FROM MY STANDPOINT, AND WHILE IT'S NOT ONE OF THE EVENTS THAT WAS ON OUR CALENDAR OVER THIS PAST WEEKEND, I DID HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND VOLUNTEER, UH, WITH THE GARLAND CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION THAT THE GUNS AND HOSES, UM, BOXING TOURNAMENT, WHICH IS A CHARITY FUNDRAISER BETWEEN, UM, DFW AREA FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS. AND THEY RAISE FUNDS FOR THE FAMILIES OF THOSE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS WHO MAY BE EXPERIENCING HARD TIMES. MAYBE THE INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN INJURED ON THE JOB OFF WORK FOR A SPECIFIC REASON. AND SOMETIMES, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT INDIVIDUAL HAS PASSED AND THAT SUPPORT [00:05:01] GOES TO THEIR FAMILIES AS WELL. UM, SO THAT EVENT WAS A SOLD OUT ON THE FLOOR IN QUITE A FEW SEATS IN THE STANDS WELL ATTENDED. UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DID WIN . WOOHOO. UH, BUT THE MERYL WAS, LOOK AT MERYL BEING OFF ALL LIKE THAT. NOT SAYING A WORD, BUT THEY DID GET, BUT THE PD DID GET A FEW, UH, MATCHES IN THERE THAT THEY WON. SO IT WAS A REALLY GREAT EVENT AND, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND VOLUNTEER FOR A GREAT CAUSE. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER EVENTS BEFORE WE MOVE TO STAFF UPDATES? UM, THE ONLY, IT WASN'T AN EVENT, BUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DID START TAKING APPLICATIONS ON SEPTEMBER 4TH FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. IF YOU KNOW ANYONE, 18 TO 35 HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS ALL REQUIRED. 82,000 IS STARTING SALARY. SO YOU GOT NEPHEWS, NIECES, GRANDCHILDREN. IS THERE A LINK THAT IS CRAZY. IT IS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HEAD. MATTER OF FACT, YOU HAVE TO APPLY ONLINE. SO THE LINK IS ON THERE. GOOD REMINDER. AND I DID ALSO START CITIZENS FIRE ACADEMY. DID YOU? UH, YES. SO THIS IS WEEK THREE. SO WHEN I LEAVE HERE, THAT'S WHERE I'M HEADED. COME ON, COME ON. UH, SO YEAH, I AM IN, UH, WEEK TWO OR WEEK THREE NOW. ALRIGHT. WE WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO STAFF UPDATES. UH, WE DO HAVE TWO NEW, UH, COMMISSION MEMBERS WITH US TODAY. WE HAVE MS. MARIA. AND WE HAVE MR. COREY. SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO IS JUST GIVE THEM A MOMENT TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO US AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEMSELVES. AND THEN IF WE COULD GO AROUND THE ROOM AND JUST INTRODUCE OURSELVES, WHAT DISTRICT WE'RE FROM OR REPRESENTING, UM, JUST SO THEY CAN GET TO KNOW US AS WELL. SO, UM, HELLO. GOOD EVENING. I'M, I'M MARIA VGA. I'M A REGISTERED NURSE. I'M CURRENTLY WORKING AT THE DALLAS VA MEDICAL CENTER. I'VE BEEN A NURSE FOR 35 YEARS. AND, UM, I'M VERY HONORED TO BE PART OF THIS COMMITTEE, OR, YEAH. SO, UM, THAT'S BASICALLY IT. I FORGOT. I, I DID ATTEND, UH, ASIA, AMERICAN PACIFIC, UH, INTERNATIONAL BEAUTY PAGEANT SOMETIME LIKE THREE WEEKS AGO. UH, SO THAT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. I WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEND THAT, BUT KHAR WAS THERE. SHE SAID IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. JUST, IT WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED. AWESOME. THANK YOU. WE'RE SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU AND MR. COREY, WE'LL COME OVER TO YOU. UH OH. OKAY. UH, MY NAME IS COREY MCLAURIN. UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF. UM, UH, I WORK, UH, FULL-TIME AT HOME WHERE ALL MY CHILDREN RESIDE. UM, IT IS JUST ME AND THEM, SO I LIKE TO POINT THAT OUT. SOMETIMES I'M LATE 'CAUSE OF THEM, UH, . UM, BUT I'M, I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE. UM, YEAH. AND WHAT DISTRICT ARE YOU REMINDING? FOUR. FOUR DISTRICT TWO. ALL RIGHT. AND MS. MARIA IS DISTRICT TWO. ALRIGHT. MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON. NEARBY, JUST CALLS ME CJ. UH, I LIVE IN DISTRICT EIGHT ALONG MS. KIMBERLY, AS YOU'LL FIND OUT. BUT I WAS APPOINTED BY, UH, MAYOR HEDRICK. UM, SO, UH, HE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPOINT SEVERAL POSITIONS AS A PART OF THIS BOARD AS WELL. UM, AND I CURRENTLY WORK FOR STATE FARM. I'VE BEEN THERE ABOUT 27 YEARS, AND CURRENTLY A, A TECHNOLOGY MANAGER. SO REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE AND SERVE WITH BOTH OF YOU. OKAY. UM, MY NAME IS MOSES. UM, I'M THE FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION CALLED CULTURE MAKERS. WE EXIST SO THAT EVERY STUDENT WE CARE FOR IS SEEN, CHERISHED AND TAUGHT TO BE REMARKABLE LEADERS. AND THE WAY WE DO THAT IS WE PARTNER WITH THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO BRING MENTORING PROGRAMS. SO WE CURRENTLY SERVE 10 SCHOOLS IN GARLAND, ISD. THAT DOES INCLUDE . THAT DOES INCLUDE SAX E. UM, AND WE HAVE, UH, 300 STUDENTS THAT ARE IN OUR CARE. WE HAVE 57 VOLUNTEERS THAT CARE WITH US. SO MY LIFE IS DEDICATED TO ENSURING THAT KIDS ARE DOING BETTER. SO THAT'S WHAT I DO. LOVELY. AND I'M FROM DISTRICT SIX. I GOT NOMINATED BY CARISSA DUTTON AND I FOUND OUT THE NOMINATION WHILE I WAS, UH, I GOT LIKE A CALL FROM SOMEBODY SAYING, HEY, CONGRATULATIONS. THAT'S HOW I FOUND OUT. . YOU WERE VOLUNTOLD. I WAS, I WAS DEFINITELY VOLUNTOLD. YEAH, I KNOW THAT. HI, I'M KIMBERLY BANKS AND I AM REPRESENTING DISTRICT EIGHT. I WORK AT COMMUNITIES FOUNDATION OF TEXAS IN OUR EDUCATED TEXAS INITIATIVE AND AM A FORMER CHAIR. AND APPRECIATE EVERYONE BEING HERE AND BEING ABLE TO SERVE ALONGSIDE THIS INCREDIBLE GROUP OF PEOPLE. ALL RIGHT. I, MERYL BALLER. I AM LIVING DISTRICT EIGHT ALSO, BUT I WAS APPOINTED BY JIMMY TRAN, WHO WAS A FORMER MEMBER HERE. UM, [00:10:02] DISTRICT, DISTRICT ONE, JIMMY TRAN. AND, UH, BEEN ON HERE A COUPLE OF YEARS. JOINED IT. WHAT'D YOU DO? WHAT WAS YOUR PROFESSION? OH, I AM A RETIRED GARLAND FIREFIGHTER. WE BOP COPS EVERY YEAR IN GUNS AND HOSES. , . ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. I'M EARL. I'M RETIRED. I'VE, UH, I'VE, UH, UH, JUST WANTED TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO MY COMMUNITY. I THINK THE, THIS STATE AND THIS COUNTRY AND THIS CITY HAVE BEEN SO GOOD TO ME THAT, UH, I'D LIKE TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK, CONTRIBUTE WHAT I CAN. AND I'M A MAYOR. MAYOR OR APPOINTEE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, SIR. SO I THINK, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS THE RETIREMENT CORNER , ALL RETIRED PEOPLE ALL TOGETHER WAS INTO THAT. SO I'M ARTHUR GREG. I AM A RETIRED, UH, HIGHER ED PROFESSIONAL WORK FOR UTD FOR 25 YEARS. AND THEN, UM, OVERALL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, 36 I THINK ALTOGETHER. UM, I, UH, HAVE A SMALL CONSULTING AND TRAINING BUSINESS. UM, I JUST STARTED WITH MY CLASSMATE AND, UH, LEADERSHIP GARLAND, UH, LEADERSHIP CLASS 46. THE BEST CLASS, BEST CLASS. UM, AND SO, UH, WE'RE THE BIGGEST RIGHT NOW. UH, WE'RE THE BEST 'CAUSE WE WE'RE HAPPEN IT RIGHT NOW. THIS ONE RIGHT NOW WE ARE HAPPEN IT RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. SEE BEST ONE RIGHT NOW. WE'RE STILL GONNA BE THE BEST AT THE END THOUGH, . UM, AND SO, UH, I'M POINTED BY THE MAYOR. ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU ALL FOR THE, THE INTRODUCTIONS. WELCOME COREY. WELCOME MS. MARIA. WE APPRECIATE YOU AND ARE SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE TO SERVE WITH US. UM, THE NEXT PORTION THAT WE'LL MOVE TO ARE FUTURE, UM, ITEMS, WHICH IS WHERE WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT OUR CALENDAR, RIGHT? OR DO YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING THERE? ANGE? YEAH, I HAD A COUPLE STAFF UPDATES REAL QUICK. UM, SO ONE THING I WILL MENTION, WE ALSO DO HAVE A THIRD NEW MEMBER. HE WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US TONIGHT 'CAUSE HE'S TRAVELING AT THE MOMENT, BUT HIS NAME IS TONY. UM, SO HE WILL HOPEFULLY BE HERE WITH THE NEXT MEETING. SO WE'LL GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF, UM, NEXT TIME. UM, BUT JUST EXPECT THAT AS WELL. UM, SO THERE WERE A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANTED TO CALL OUT IN YOUR PACKETS. THERE'S A LETTER FROM MS. JENNIFER. UM, SHE'S REALLY HOPING TO GET SOME PEOPLE TO COME OUT AND VOLUNTEER WITH HER CHILDREN'S FALL FESTIVAL COMMITTEE. SO IF YOU WANNA TAKE A MOMENT, UM, WHEN YOU HAVE SOME TIME AND JUST READ HER THROUGH HER LETTER AND IF YOU HAVE ANY SPARE TIME TO GO OUT AND JOIN HER AT THAT EVENT, I'M SURE SHE'D REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. UM, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO CALL OUT IS ON OCTOBER 3RD WE HAVE THE SAFETY FEST. UM, I DID REGISTER US FOR A TABLE AND TWO CHAIRS, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE LOCKED DOWN TO SHOW UP AND VOLUNTEER FOR THAT. IT'S A GOOD FAMILY EVENT, IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO PASS OUT THIS NICE NEW SWAG WE HAVE . SO, UM, IF YOU ARE FREE THAT DAY, I MEAN THERE'S TWO CHAIRS, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT NEEDS TO ONLY BE TWO PEOPLE IF MORE THAN TWO OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO. BUT I'D LIKE TO LOCK DOWN AT LEAST A COUPLE PEOPLE TO SHOW UP FOR THAT EVENT. IT'S A GOOD CITY EVENT. IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR EXPOSURE FOR THE COMMISSION. UH, IT IS FROM 10:00 AM TO 2:00 PM 10:00 AM TO 3:00 PM I BELIEVE. UM, BUT I HAVE SOME EXTRA FLYERS. I DID INCLUDE THEM LAST WEEK, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT STILL, I HAVE SOME EXTRA FLYERS HERE ON THE BACK. SO FEEL FREE TO, UM, TAKE A LOOK AFTER WE WRAP, UM, TO GET THOSE DETAILS. BUT IF WE COULD, UM, TODAY JUST LOCK DOWN AT LEAST A COUPLE PEOPLE TO SHOW UP FOR THAT SINCE WE DO HAVE THE TABLE RESERVE. WHICH DEPARTMENT HOSTS IT? FIRE. OH MM-HMM . . IT'S MR. I NOT HAVE RETIRED . SO MERYL SAID HE'S SIGNING UP. YEAH, I, UH, MR. JERRY CLICK IS THE ONE ORGANIZING THAT EVENT. YEAH. AND I'M PLANNING TO BE THERE AS WELL. I'LL GO FOR SET UP. SURE. OKAY. THAT'LL WORK. AND IF, YEAH, WE DOING LIKE ONE OR TWO HOUR SHIFTS? ONE HOUR PLEASE. , UH, YOU KNOW WHAT? I WILL TAKE WHAT YOU HAVE. I'M PLANNING TO TRY AND BE THERE FOR THE MAJORITY OF IT. UM, YEAH, I'M, I'M AT THE CHURCH COMMUNITY BREAKFAST FROM EIGHT OKAY. TO, TO FROM EIGHT UNTIL NINE 30. BUT I CAN GO AND BE THERE FOR SET UP UNTIL LIKE 11. I APPRECIATE IT. YEAH. YEAH. THAT'S THE THIRD. YES. OCTOBER 3RD. THIRD I CAN VOLUNTEER. WHERE IS IT? IS IT FIRE ADMIN? FIRE? THAT'S WHERE FIRE ADMIN. UM, SO IT'S OVER ON, UM, WELL I GUESS WHAT IS 66? YEAH. MM-HMM . SO WE HAVE MS. KIMBERLY SHOWING UP FOR SETUP. I'LL BE THERE FOR BREAKDOWN. MERYL'S GONNA COME LAST HOUR OR WHATEVER FOR BREAKDOWN LAST HOUR AND BREAKDOWN. AND MS. MARIA, DO YOU HAVE A TIME DURING THAT DAY THAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU? LIKE 10 IN THE MORNING. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND I'M PLANNING ON BEING THERE FOR THE MAJORITY OF IT AS WELL. SO DO I NEED PICK UP? [00:15:01] UH, I CAN WORK OUT WITH CJ OR WHOEVER WANTS TO COME PICK STUFF UP. UM, IF WE WANNA FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH, UM, SWAG AND IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE IN THE MEETING, WE CAN TALK AFTER ABOUT LIKE WHAT ITEMS YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO PACK FOR YOU. AND THEN I CAN HAVE A BIN READY FOR YOU WHENEVER IT'S CONVENIENT FOR YOU TO COME BY OUR OFFICE. PERFECT. THANK YOU. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I, I WANTED TO NOTE IS WE LOOK AT THE CALENDAR. IS THIS COMING SATURDAY? WE DO HAVE OUR NAACP UH, FREEDOM FUND BRUNCH AND SILENT AUCTION. IT'S THE 35TH ANNUAL EVENT. I KNOW. I'M GOING ANGE. DO WE HAVE MS. KIM LANE? I'M GOING MR. CHARLES THIS GOING? WAS THERE ANYBODY ELSE? I THOUGHT WE HAD FOUR. ALEX IS ALSO GONNA GO, ALEX. OKAY. HE'S NOT HERE TONIGHT, BUT I DO HAVE YOUR TICKETS. SO, UM, I EMAILED THEM TO YOU, BUT I ALSO PRINTED THEM FOR YOU IF YOU'D PREFER. SO JUST COME SEE ME AFTER. OKAY. THANK YOU. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER UPDATES? DO WE WANNA THAT'S IT FOR ME. WE CAN MOVE ON. DO WE WANT TO NAIL DOWN THE 17TH? THE, UM, MISS JENNIFER'S DEAL? OH YEAH. MM-HMM . THE CHILDREN'S FALL CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL AT SAIGON MALL. YEAH. AND DO WE HAVE OUR TABLE BOTH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY? OR WHEN DID WE PURCHASE OR REQUEST A TABLE? BECAUSE THE EVENT IS FRIDAY FROM FIVE TO 10, OR ACTUALLY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FROM FIVE TO 10. I HAVE NOT GOTTEN A TABLE YET FOR THIS EVENT. I CAN REACH OUT TO JENNIFER AND ARRANGE THAT IF YOU ALL WOULD LIKE A TABLE. UM, I, THE TABLE THAT I GOT WAS FOR THE FIRE, UM, SAFETY EVENT. IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO WORK A TABLE FOR THIS AS WELL, I CAN REACH OUT TO JENNIFER. UM, IF Y'ALL WANT TO DECIDE WHAT LEVEL OF TIME DEVOTION YOU'D LIKE TO GO OUT AND SHOW OUT FOR. YEAH. SO I WAS NOT THERE LAST YEAR, BUT MS. KIMBERLEY, YOU WERE THERE? YEAH. DO WE HAVE A TABLE? WE DID. OKAY. WE DID, WE HAD A TABLE. UM, AND IT'S SO AS ALL THINGS ARE AT KELLY SMA WAS INCREDIBLY WELL ATTENDED. UM, AND LOTS OF, LOTS OF PEOPLE STOPPED BY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GOT E EVERYTHING WAS GONE HA ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY THROUGH. UM, WHAT DAYS IS IT? IT'S THE 16TH AND THE 17TH OF OCTOBER, THAT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. MM-HMM. IN, IN HER LETTER SHE HAS A SPECIFIC REQUEST. WHAT SHE ASKED FOR, FOR SIXTH VOLUNTEERS TO ASSIST WITH CHILDREN'S GAME BOOTHS. OH. SO SHE DOESN'T WANT US TO BOUNCE HOUSES? SHE DOES NOT. SHE'S NOT ASKING US TO REPRESENT. SHE'S ASKING US TO VOLUNTEER. OKAY. CORRECT. BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE A TABLE, I CAN GET A TABLE. SO IF Y'ALL WANT TO HAVE A TABLE AND MAYBE TAKE TURNS VOLUNTEERING TO HELP HER OUT, UM, SHE DID REQUEST VOLUNTEERS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A TABLE. AGAIN, THIS IS A GOOD EVENT FOR, TO GET THE EXPOSURE. I CAN, I CAN DISCUSS WITH HER. MM-HMM. IT'S EXCELLENT. UM, YEAH, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO VOLUNTEER OR TABLE. YEAH. SO I GUESS WHAT I WOULD NOT ON FRIDAY. YEAH. SO I GUESS WHAT I WOULD ASK IS WHO WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO VOLUNTEER ON FRIDAY? LET'S TALK FRIDAY FIRST. , I CAN VOLUNTEER ON FRIDAY THE 16TH. MM-HMM . YES. NOT THE TIME THAT WEEKEND. SO WE HAVE COREY ON FRIDAY. WHAT WEEKEND? THIS OCTOBER 16TH. THE 17TH. LEMME LOOK AT MY CALENDAR REAL QUICK. THIRD, THIRD WEEKEND IN OCTOBER. I HAVE THAT ON MY CALENDAR ALREADY, SO I'M PLANNING TO BE THERE ON FRIDAY AND I'M ALSO PLANNING TO BE THERE ON SATURDAY. SO ANYBODY ELSE FOR FRIDAY? ALRIGHT. NO ONE ELSE. SATURDAY. LET'S TALK SATURDAY. OH, SATURDAY MS. KIMBERLY. OKAY. MEETING FOR A COUPLE HOURS AT LEAST. WHAT TIME DOES THIS START? IS IT LIKE 10:00 AM UH, NO, IT'S FIVE TO 10:00 PM ON SATURDAY. SATURDAY. BOTH DAYS. YEP. SO YOU'RE GONNA COME FOR THE FIRST TWO HOURS? FIVE TO FIVE TO SEVEN. OKAY. ANYONE ELSE FOR SATURDAY? IS IT THE TABLE OR? WELL, SO I WAS WONDERING ABOUT WHO WAS AVAILABLE FIRST. 'CAUSE I KNOW SHE'S ASKING FOR PHYSICAL LABOR AND THEN I WAS GONNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. I'M OUTTA TOWN THAT WEEKEND SO I WON'T BE IN THE CITY. OKAY. SO WHAT I WOULD PROBABLY SAY OR SUGGEST IS THAT WE, WITH THE FOUR INDIVIDUALS THAT WE HAVE, PROVIDE MAN LABOR THAT THEY ASK FOR, FOR THE BOUNCE HOUSES AND FOREGO A TABLE. 'CAUSE IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE'LL HAVE ENOUGH TO, TO DO BOTH. SURE. OKAY. UM, AND, UM, I'VE ORDERED SOME GENERIC BUSINESS CARDS FOR YOU ALL AS WELL, SO I CAN GET THOSE. ONCE THEY COME IN, I CAN GET [00:20:01] THOSE TO YOU. AND IF YOU WOULD JUST LIKE TO KEEP THEM ON YOUR PERSON FOR THAT EVENT SO YOU CAN STILL PASS THOSE OUT. UM, IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE YOUR OWN PERSONAL ONES, WE CAN WORK THAT OUT AS WELL. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND COREY, DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC TIME ON FRIDAY YOU WERE AVAILABLE? UM, I'M GONNA SAY SIX. OKAY. JUST THINKING THROUGH. YEAH. OKAY. IT, IT'LL PROBABLY BE A LITTLE EARLIER THAN THAT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU'S. GOOD. BRING THE KIDS I'LL. WELL THEN FIVE O'CLOCK BRING I BRING ALL THE KIDS. YEAH. BRING KIDS. MAKE 'EM ALL COME. IT'S A FANTASTIC FAMILY EVENT. UM, I'LL BE THERE FROM FIVE TO SEVEN. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. 10. YEAH. MARK ME DOWN FIVE TO 10. YEAH. ALRIGHT, IN THE ESSENCE OF TIME, ANGE, WAS THERE THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON THE CALENDAR THAT WE NEEDED TO DISCUSS REGARDING A TABLE? BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO KEEP OUR GUESTS WAITING. NO, I BELIEVE THAT WAS EVERYTHING COMING UP THAT, UM, A TABLE NEEDED TO BE IN DISCUSSION FOR. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL IF THAT IS ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND THEN MOVE US TO THE ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION UNLESS THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE FOR ITEM NUMBER FOUR. ALL RIGHT. UH, TODAY WE HAVE WITH US MS. CHARLENE EDWARDS. AND SHE IS WITH PROJECT UNITY. AND THEY ARE THE ORGANIZATION THAT CONDUCTS THE, TOGETHER WE DINE EVENTS. AND SO WE WOULD LOVE TO OPEN THE FLOOR TO YOU, MS. EDWARDS, AND LET YOU COME AND GRACE US WITH YOUR WISDOM. YAY FU. YES. OKAY. AND HEY, OZ, IS THE MICROPHONE ON? IT'S ON. YEAH. OKAY. ALRIGHT. IT'S, IT'S RIGHT. IT'S ON. WELL, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. GOOD EVENING. EVENING. GOOD EVENING. UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US AGAIN HERE TODAY, UM, TO TALK TO YOU AND HOPEFULLY, UM, CONTINUE TO KEEP THE BALL MOVING ON ON, ON OUR PARTNERSHIP TOGETHER. UM, I DO HAVE ONE SIDEBAR, IS THAT, UM, I'VE BEEN WITH STATE FARM FOR 28 YEARS MM-HMM . BUT AS A CUSTOMER, , THANK YOU. ON THE OTHER SIDE. SO YOU GET ALL MY MONEY. , LOOK, I GET YOURS AND MINE. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. AWESOME. ALRIGHT, SO, UM, WHAT I WANTED TO DO IS, UM, I WANTED TO SHARE, UM, UM, A VIDEO, UM, THAT WE HAVE, UH, CREATED FOR OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF COPPEL. UM, AS AN EXAMPLE OF, UH, THE COMMUNITY IMPACT. UM, AND I THINK THAT, SO WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, WE'RE IN OUR SECOND YEAR. WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER OUR THIRD YEAR OF PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF COPPEL, UM, WITH THEIR ONE COPPEL INITIATIVE. AND THAT IS INITIATIVE THAT THEY STARTED A COUPLE YEARS AGO TO, UH, BRING THE COMMUNITIES TOGETHER. UM, AND, AND IT'S, IT'S BEEN A GREAT, UM, IT'S BEEN A GREAT ADD FOR, FOR THAT. AND KIMBER LANE IS, IS A FACILITATOR FOR TOGETHER, WE DON AND SHE'S GOTTEN TO WITNESS THIS, UM, THE IMPACT, UM, THE COMRADERY, UM, AND THE FEELING, UH, OF BELONGING THAT PEOPLE LEAVE WITH FROM THE EVENT. SO, I DON'T KNOW WHO PUSHES THE BUTTON. DOES. OH, I CAN PUSH THE BUTTON. YEAH, I THINK THE MOUSE, I THINK IT'S ON THAT ONE. YEAH. OKAY. HERE WE GO. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS WES MAYS. I'M MAYOR OF THE CITY OF COPPEL. TONIGHT WE HAD OUR FIRST INSTALLMENT OF OUR ONE COPPEL, WHICH WAS A, A DINNER FOR ALL. THE THING THAT I THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT IS GETTING OUR CITIZENS TOGETHER TO LET THEM HAVE A MEAL TOGETHER, GET TO SHARE SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, AND BASICALLY GET TO KNOW THEM AS YOUR NEIGHBOR. BRINGING AND PROJECT UNITY TO THE CITY. UH, WAS ONE THAT I GOT CONNECTED IN WITH OUR MAYOR, ACTUALLY THE MAYOR, UH, MAYOR MAYS WENT TO A PROGRAM AND HE INTRODUCED US TO, UH, PASTOR BUTLER. AND I KNEW THAT IT WAS SOMETHING WE HAD TO HAVE WITH THE CITY AND WITH ONE CAPEL. I LOVE THE IDEA THAT CAPEL IS INVESTING IN HELPING EVERYONE BE GOOD NEIGHBORS. AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO DO. I WANT TO MAKE A, CONTINUE TO MAKE A GOOD EFFORT TO MEET MY NEIGHBORS, TO MEET THE PEOPLE THAT I SEE WALKING IN THE PARKS AND PLAYING PICKLEBALL. AND, UH, JUST TO GET TO KNOW MORE PEOPLE HERE IN COPPEL TO MAKE IT MORE OF A COMMUNITY. MY EXPERIENCE WITH TONIGHT'S SPRINT WAS THAT YOU JUST NEVER REALLY KNOW WHO YOU'RE SITTING NEXT TO UNLESS YOU TAKE THE TIME TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM. MY HOPE THAT YOU EXPERIENCE OUT OF THE TOGETHER WE DIMES IS JUST TO GET TO KNOW SOMEONE, GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS, MAYBE SOMEONE THAT YOU'VE NEVER MET AND WOULDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET [00:25:01] IF YOU WEREN'T PARTICIPATING IN A TOGETHER WE DIE PROGRAM. THIS WAS A REALLY FUN EXPERIENCE. OUR TABLE WAS GREAT. WE HAD, UH, EVERYBODY WAS INTERESTED IN TALKING AND SHARING. WE GOT TO HEAR DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. UM, ONE OF THE GENTLEMEN SHARED WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE AN IMMIGRANT COMING TO THE UNITED STATES MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. AND THAT'S A PERSPECTIVE THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM MINE. AND IT WAS TERRIFIC TO HEAR HIS STORY. WE ALL HAVE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES AND IT'S ALWAYS WORTH IT TO ASK A QUESTION AND TO TRY AND GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR OR SOMEONE THAT YOU'RE STANDING NEXT TO IN A COFFEE SHOP. I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND PEOPLE ATTENDING, UH, AN EVENT LIKE THIS. UM, SO MANY OF US ARE SO INSULATED AND SO SILOED AND THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO MEET PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND RACES AND CULTURES, AND THEY HAVE SO MUCH TO SHARE. AND JUST HEARING THE, THE STORIES OF DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES IS SOMETHING THAT I DON'T GET A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO DO. SO AN EVENT LIKE THIS IS TERRIFIC. THIS IS THE FIRST OF MANY PROGRAMS THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THROUGH ONE CAPEL. AND SO JUST MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WHAT'S TO COME. BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ONE COCKTAIL AND PROJECT UNITY. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF PROGRAM THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR. WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY. WE BELIEVE IT'S THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND I CERTAINLY AM ENDORSING THE PROGRAM AND IN LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING MANY MORE TO COME. ALL RIGHT. SO I'LL, I'LL PAUSE IT THERE. UM, SO IT'S BEEN A GREAT RELATIONSHIP. UM, WE ARE HOSTING FOUR TOGETHER. WE DINE EVENTS WITH THEM NOW A YEAR. UM, PREPARING FOR NEXT YEAR, UH, WHERE WE WILL HOST, UM, A COMMUNITY DINE WITH THE POLICE. UM, WE HOSTED THE FIRST DINE FOR THEIR YOUTH THIS YEAR, SO WE'LL, WE'RE REPEATING THAT WHERE THERE'LL BE A YOUTH FOCUSED DINE NEXT YEAR. UM, AND, UM, THEY HAVE CONTINUED TO HAVE DINES, UM, ON THE TOPICS OF CULTURE AND BELONGING TO HELP, UH, PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS EXPLORE CULTURES AND, AND LEARN ABOUT EACH OTHER. SO I, I THINK THIS WILL BE A, A GREAT, UH, ASSET, UH, FOR THE CITY OF GARLAND. SO, I'LL, I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS OR IF YOU WANT TO, UM, DISCUSS YOU THE PARTICULAR EVENT FOR NEXT YEAR, OR I WILL PAUSE AND LET MY COUNCIL FOLKS HAVE OPPORTUNITY FOR QUESTIONS. 'CAUSE I TALK A LOT. THAT'S OKAY. , NO QUESTIONS. ALRIGHT. I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION. I DO HAVE A COMMENT. I HAVE BEEN A FACILITATOR SINCE 2019 AND THE ARRAY OF TOPICS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR DISCUSSION IS ALMOST LIMITLESS. AND YOU CAN COUNT ON PROJECT UNITY AND CHARLENE TO PARTNER WITH YOU DEVELOPING REALLY THOUGHT PROVOKING QUESTIONS AND ENCOURAGE SAFE CONVERSATION THAT PEOPLE DON'T USUALLY HAVE. YEAH. SO IT HAS BEEN A REAL PRIVILEGE TO BE A VOLUNTEER AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE DONE, SEE THE LAST ONE I DID FOR CITY OF CAPEL WAS ON THE TOPIC OF CIVILITY MM-HMM . AND IT WAS PHENOMENAL. THEY HAVE LEANED ALL THE WAY IN AND I HAVE ALWAYS WISHED THAT GARLAND WOULD DO SOMETHING SIMILAR. YEAH. MM-HMM . WELL, THANK YOU FOR BOTH OF YOUR PERSPECTIVE. SO, UM, THAT BEING SAID, UM, CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MAYBE SOME OF THE TOPICS AND KIND OF HOW THE CONVERSATION, UM, YOU KNOW, GO WITH THOSE PARTICULAR TOPICS KIND OF FOCUSED FROM A, A CITY PERSPECTIVE? AND THEN I THINK MAYBE THE ADD-ON TO THAT IS, IS THERE A COMPONENT WHERE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION, THE INSIGHTS ARE CAPTURED? OKAY. YES, ABSOLUTELY. SO LET ME, SO LET ME PAUSE THERE AND LET YOU RESPOND, . YEAH. SO I DID READ THE NOTES, UM, YES. THAT YOU SHARED. AND AS KIMBERLY SAID, YES, THE, THE TOPICS ARE LIMITLESS. AND WHAT I DO IS I WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS TO FIND OUT, UM, WHAT OUTCOMES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE OBJECTIVE OF, OF THE SETTING? YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE, WHAT ARE WE GATHERING PEOPLE FOR, RIGHT? AND THEN WHAT, WHAT OUTCOMES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? RIGHT? UM, AND THEN FROM THERE, UM, I CURATE, UM, YOU KNOW, QUESTIONS, UM, THAT I FEEL WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. AND THOSE QUESTIONS ARE, ARE GEARED, UH, TO BE THOUGHTFUL, INTROSPECTIVE. UM, THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO PUT PEOPLE, UH, A CORNER PEOPLE, UM, OR PUT PEOPLE IN, YOU KNOW, ON THE SPOT, UM, IN A NEGATIVE WAY. BUT THEY ARE QUESTIONS THAT CAN REALLY HELP DRAW OUT EXPERIENCES THAT, THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM. RIGHT. AND THEN TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT, DO WE, UH, SCRIBE, I THINK, OR, OR, OR CAPTURE INFORMATION THAT IS USABLE FOR [00:30:01] YOU MAYBE TO, TO DO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BUSINESS OF THE COMMUNITY? THE ANSWER IS YES. SO WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, UH, THE COLLIN COUNTY BUSINESS ALLIANCE, WHICH, UH, WAS BORN OUT OF CAPITAL ONE, UM, CAPITAL ONE, UH, AND PLANO. AND THEY LEAD THE, THE CCBA COLLIN COUNTY BUSINESS ALLIANCE. SO THEY DO A LOT OF, UM, OF COMMUNITY EVENTS AND THEY, UH, UTILIZE PROJECT UNITY, UM, FOR DIFFERENT DYING RELATED EVENTS. WE'RE ABOUT TO DO ONE COMING UP, UH, IN A COUPLE WEEKS AND IT'S ON PLURALISM. RIGHT. UM, WE'VE DONE, UH, VOTER CIVILITY, UM, WE'VE JUST DONE CIVILITY. UM, AND WE'VE DONE OTHER TOPICS, UM, AS, AS WELL. AND SO WITH SOME OF THOSE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FACILITATORS DESCRIBE RIGHT. UM, THERE IS, UM, OUT OF OUR STATE LEGISLATOR, UH, LEGISL LEGISLATION, LEGISL OUT OF AUSTIN. THANK YOU. UM, THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CAUCUS. SO WE HAVE JUST SUPPORTED THEM ON, UM, THEIR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TOUR WHERE THEY ARE GOING AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS GATHERING INFORMATION, UM, FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT THEY CAN USE TO HELP WITH LEGISLATION IN, IN, IN AUSTIN. AND SO WE HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR HELPING TO SCRIBE, UM, OUT OF THOSE, UH, TABLE DISCUSSIONS, UH, WITH CITIZENS, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN, SO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD TAKE THAT BACK AND AND DEVELOP LEGISLATION. SO, SO DEFINITELY THAT IS POSSIBLE. THAT'S WONDERFUL. UM, BECAUSE MY VISION WAS KIND OF COMING ON THIS BOARD AND I THINK SOME OF MY PEERS WERE PROBABLY TIRED OF HEARING ME SAY, HOW ARE WE CONTRIBUTING TO THE FUTURE BEYOND HANDING OUT OUR INFORMATION? AND SO PART OF OUR DECLARANCE, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS COMMISSION WAS BUILT UPON IS GATHERING INFORMATION AND PROVIDING INSIGHT AND OR MAYBE RECOMMENDATIONS TO OUR MAYOR AND COUNCIL ON HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO MAKE GARLAND A GREAT CITY LIVE IN. AND SO THAT WAS REALLY THE IDEA IS HOW DO WE BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER, TALK ABOUT THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCE, WHAT BROUGHT THEM HERE, WHAT'S KEPT THEM HERE, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE SINCE YOU'VE BEEN HERE IN GARLAND? WHAT ABOUT YOUR SERVICES THAT YOU RECEIVE? UM, HOW ARE THEY PROVIDING YOU TO GO ABOUT YOUR DAY TODAY BUSINESS IN LIVING IN THRIVING IN GARLAND? AND WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE RICHER AS A CITIZEN OF GARLAND? SO IF YOU HAVE THIS, UM, THIS WAS JUST CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD. SURE. I TOOK INSCRIBED IT AND PUT A LITTLE BIT OF AI TO IT MM-HMM . BUT I'M VERY OPEN TO, AS YOU THINK ABOUT THIS AND HEARING THAT VISION, HOW WE COULD WORK TOGETHER TO CURATE SOMETHING THAT WOULD WORK WELL FOR THE CITY OF GARLAND. ABSOLUTELY. I I THINK THIS EVENT COULD BE YOUR JUMPING OFF POINT FOR A SERIES OF, 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET EVERYTHING RIGHT. AGREE. RIGHT. AGREE. BUT I THINK IT'S A GREAT, UH, COMMUNITY INTRODUCTION SO THAT PEOPLE COULD BE EXCITED ABOUT THE NEXT TIME. RIGHT. SO I WILL SAY WITH KAEL, THEY, THEY HAVE WHAT WE CALL REPEAT DINERS. SO THERE'S PEOPLE WHO ARE, WHO ARE COMING, UH, AND, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT JUST COMING FOR THE FOOD. I ALWAYS TELL, YOU KNOW, THE FOOD IS ALWAYS FREE 'CAUSE THE EVENTS ARE FREE. RIGHT. BUT PEOPLE GENUINELY COME BECAUSE THEY ARE INTERESTED IN MEETING SOMEONE NEW AND LEARNING ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBOR. UH, I'M TRYING TO KEEP MY SCREEN OPEN, UH, FROM YOUR NOTES, BUT YEAH, THEY, THEY WANNA LEARN ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBOR. UM, AND SO THAT'S WHEN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE CAN EXPLORE OTHER TOPICS. AND I WILL SAY FOR EVERY SINGLE DINE THAT WE'VE DONE WITH COPPEL, THE LAST FOUR, OR I MEAN, UH, THE LAST EIGHT, THE MAYOR HAS BEEN, UM, AT ALL. BUT, BUT THE YOUTH DINE, HE, HE DIDN'T COME TO THE, TO THE YOUTH DINE . UM, BUT THEY ALWAYS HAVE A CITY COUNCIL PERSON MM-HMM . WHO IS THERE, AND THEY ARE AT THE TABLE AND THEY'RE LISTENING TO THEIR NEIGHBORS. AND THAT, THAT IS KEY BECAUSE NOW THEY'VE GOT FIRSTHAND INFORMATION TO BRING BACK TO THE, TO THE COUNCIL. RIGHT. AND SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO DO, UM, IS TO NOT JUST MAKE THIS A ONE TIME THING, BUT HOW CAN YOU LEVERAGE PROJECT UNITY TO HELP YOU BUILD COMMUNITY. SO THIS IS THE START OF A NEW MM-HMM . ERA YEAH. OF GARLAND. ABSOLUTELY. AND HOW WE ENGAGE. ABSOLUTELY. YES MA'AM. UM, I JUST WANNA ADD, WHEN, UM, REPRESENTATIVE RED BOWERS MM-HMM . DISTRICT ONE THAT'S 13, HOSTED HER DISTRICT ONE 13 DINE AT THE GARLAND, UM, AT THE NICHOLSON DOWNTOWN LIBRARY. MM-HMM . REPRESENTATION. I THINK WE HAD LIKE SIX CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE. YEAH. I KNOW. WE HAD THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT AND SEVERAL SCHOOL BOARD ME MEMBERS, UH, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS THERE AS WELL. AND IT'S ALWAYS GOOD BECAUSE THEY ARE IN CONVERSATION MM-HMM . THEY'RE NOT THERE WATCHING YOU, THEY'RE THERE SHARING THEIR OWN LIVED EXPERIENCES. MM-HMM . ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO [00:35:01] RECOGNIZE WE'RE ALL CITIZENS. MM-HMM . YEAH. YEAH. AND SHE HOSTED, THAT'S HER SECOND ONE. UM, SHE, SHE HOSTED ONE WHO WAS A MESQUITE WAS IN MES. YEAH. YEP. AWESOME. ALRIGHT. SO AS YOU LOOK OVER KIND OF WHAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER OR CAPTURED MM-HMM . WHAT INSIGHTS HAVE YOU DRAWN FROM IT LEVEL OF, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATENESS FOR A FIRST VENTURE OUT INTO THIS SPACE? UM, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE DETAILED, BUT MAYBE KIND OF SOME HIGH LEVEL THINKING POINTS TO HELP US AS A COMMITTEE TO CONTINUE FINE TUNING AND COLLABORATING WITH YOU TO GET TO THAT BETTER STATE. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I, I THINK YOU MAY WANT TO JUST START OUT JUST BRINGING, BEFORE YOU GET INTO LIKE, ISSUES TOUGH TOPICS. YEAH. YEAH. TOUGH TOPICS OR ISSUES. I, I WOULD SAY HOST YOUR FIRST CONVERSATION EVENT ON CULTURE AND BELONGING. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE COMES, HAS A DIFFERENT BACKGROUND. UH, WHAT, WHAT MAKES THEM, YOU KNOW, UNIQUE, UM, WHAT'S MAYBE SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE CURIOUS ABOUT. UM, BECAUSE WE ALL SHOULD BE CURIOUS, WHICH IS WHAT A STUDENT SAID AT ONE OF OUR DS DURING THE PANDEMIC. WE SHOULD ALL BE CURIOUS ABOUT EACH OTHER TO WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH OTHER. SO, SO, SO I WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, HAVING, UH, CULTURE AND BELONGING SO THAT PEOPLE CAN, CAN DIVE INTO THAT. UM, AND THEN FROM THERE, TAKING IT INTO SMALLER SEGMENTS OF DIMES. RIGHT. THE CAPELLE DIMES, THEY'RE USUALLY ANYWHERE BETWEEN 50 TO 70 PEOPLE. OKAY. UM, 50 TO 70 PEOPLE. WE USUALLY PREPARE ANYWHERE BETWEEN SEVEN TO 12 TABLES. UM, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, REGISTER. UM, AND, AND WITH THIS BEING SUCH A BIG DI THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT LIKE 200 OR PLUS PEOPLE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WELL, SO WE CAN GO WITH, SO THIS WAS OUR THOUGHT. RIGHT. OKAY. NOT COMMITTED. OKAY. UM, WE WERE EXPLORING MM-HMM . BUT IF YOU FEEL LIKE STARTING WITH SOMETHING MORE SMALLER, MORE MANAGEABLE BUDGET IS ALSO A CONSIDERATION. SO, I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OF MY NEXT QUESTIONS. UM, SO I THINK KIND OF BASED ON HEARING YOU, I'M WONDERING IF MAYBE WE START SMALLER AND WE THINK ABOUT HOW TO GROW THE EVENT ABSOLUTELY. AS WE CONTINUE HOSTING THEM FOR THE CITY. YEAH. I WOULD SAY PARE IT DOWN. OKAY. UM, LET'S, LET'S PARE IT DOWN. UM, YOU COULD EASILY PLAN, YOU KNOW, FOR MAYBE 80, UM, 80, 88, UM, OR SO PEOPLE. UM, AND THEN LET'S SEE WHO SIGNS UP. LET'S SEE HOW MANY SIGN UP. IT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, 30 OR 40 PEOPLE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NERVOUS. PEOPLE ARE SCARED ABOUT TALKING MM-HMM . TO EACH OTHER AND TO LOOK AT SOMEONE ELSE THAT THEY DON'T KNOW. AND I'M BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT. 'CAUSE IT MAKES PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE RIGHT. THAT YOU HAVE TO SIT THERE. YEAH. AND SO IF 30 OR 40 PEOPLE SIGN UP THAT THAT'S OKAY. 'CAUSE THOSE 30 OR 40 PEOPLE ARE GONNA GO BACK AND TELL THEIR NEIGHBORS. AND I BET YOU THE NEXT ONE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE 60. OKAY. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE 80. IT'S, IT'S GONNA GROW. RIGHT. UM, AND WHAT'S YOUR, WHAT'S YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY? SO, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU GET TO THE PEOPLE TO, TO SAY, HEY, COME, IS IT THROUGH THE CITY, SOCIAL MEDIA, THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH, KIND OF WHAT'S YOUR, SO THAT'S WHERE YOU DO THAT WORK. OKAY. THE COMMITTEE OR YOU KNOW, MY PARTNER. SO LACEY, THE LADY WHO, SO THEY DO THAT WORK, UM, FOR US, WE ARE THE RESOURCE TO, YOU KNOW, HELP WITH, WE'LL DO THE REGISTRATION, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTRIBUTE TO THE MARKETING AND HELP DRIVE THE LANGUAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S APPROPRIATE. IT'S ON POINT. UM, WE'LL WORK WITH YOU TO, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, TO FINALIZE AND WE'LL DO ALL THE QUESTIONS. WE'LL DO ALL THAT BACKSIDE. BUT YOU KNOW, YOUR NEIGHBORS YEAH. YOU HAVE THOSE THINGS IN PLACE. YEAH. AND I THINK MY QUESTION WAS MAYBE NOT WORDED WELL. SURE, SURE. KIND OF WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AS YOU THINK ABOUT IT. SO IN FOLLOWING THE STEPS OF COPPEL, WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE FOR THEM? YES. WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA DO THE WORK. YES. BUT LIKE, WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE FOR THEM? SO THEY, THEY USE LIKE THEIR, THEIR PUBLIC BOARDS, THEY PUT IT IN THE NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTERS, UM, THEIR E COMMUNICATIONS THAT THEY USE. SO THEY USE ALL THE MEDIUMS THAT THEY DO TO COMMUNICATE OKAY. PUBLIC STUFF, YOU KNOW. SO IF Y'ALL DO, UM, LIKE NEWSLETTERS AND YOUR UTILITY BILLS, PUT IT THERE. IF YOU HAVE BOARDS IN THE LIBRARY. FLYERS IN THE LIBRARY. UM, BUT THEN ALSO, UM, UH, THEY, THAT ONE CAPEL IS A C IS A COMMITTEE. RIGHT. AND SO THEY ALSO GET THE WORD OUT. OKAY. MM-HMM . VERY HELPFUL. AND, AND THEN, AND I WOULD ALSO CHALLENGE EACH OF YOU TO, YOU KNOW, GET FIVE TO 10 PEOPLE REGISTERED THAT YOU PERSONALLY KNOW THAT, THAT ABSOLUTELY. YOU PERSONALLY KNOW. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. YEP. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE, I HAVE A QUESTION. I THINK YOU'RE GETTING TO IT. MM-HMM . UM, IT'S ALMOST TWO PARTS. I, I HAVE LIKE, THESE THREE BOXES [00:40:01] ON MY FACE. I HAVE COST OUR RESPONSIBILITY. YES. YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. MM-HMM . SO I'M HEARING YOU TALK ABOUT, UM, TALK ABOUT MARKETING, AND THEN I SEE SOMEWHAT LOGISTICS BEING OUR RESPONSIBILITY. SO, SO LOGISTICS. SO YOUR RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LOGISTICS IS FINDING THE LOCATION, RIGHT? RIGHT. SECURING THE LOCATION AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE TABLES AND CHAIRS. AND, AND THEN YOU ALSO TAKE CARE OF THE FOOD. YES. RIGHT. THE, THE FOOD PART. RIGHT. BUT I'M, I'M YOUR RESOURCES. I, I PROVIDE ALL THE FACILITATORS, I PROVIDE ALL THE FAC, UM, UH, THE MATERIALS. UM, I DO NAME TAGS FOR EVERYONE. I DO TABLE ASSIGNMENTS FOR EVERYONE. UM, SO ALL THE, THAT ADMINISTRATIVE STUFF MM-HMM . UM, I TAKE CARE OF. OKAY. MM-HMM . SO BALLPARK FIGURE, DO YOU, DO YOU, IS IS, UM, WE THINK ABOUT COST THINGS LIKE SPONSORSHIP OR WHEN IT GETS TO COST, IS IT BASED ON SIZE OR IS IT A ONE E NO MATTER HOW LARGE OR HOW SMALL? YEAH, SO GREAT QUESTION. SO, UH, WE HAVE PARTNERSHIP PACKAGES, AND I DID NOT BRING THAT, UM, WITH ME TODAY. BUT THE POP, THE PARTNERSHIP PACKAGE OR, UM, IS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF DIMES. WHETHER YOU DO A SINGLE DIME, TWO DIMES, THREE DINES, OR FOUR DIMES, YOU COULD HAVE FIVE PEOPLE, YOU CAN HAVE A HUNDRED PEOPLE. THAT COST IS NOT ON PEOPLE. IT'S THE ITERATIONS OF THE DIMES, UM, THAT YOU DO. AND, AND I DO NOT HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I, AND THAT WAS NOT INTENTIONAL, BUT I WILL GET THAT BACK TO YOU ALL. SO YOU CAN DETERMINE IF IT IS JUST ONE, UH, ONE AND DONE. UM, OR, OR WILL IT BE, UM, A SERIES, UM, OF DONE THAT YOU, THAT YOU CAN DO OKAY. MM-HMM . AND YOU WENT WHERE I WAS GONNA GO, SO THANK YOU. YEAH. I WAS THINKING, SO MM-HMM . UH, IN THAT, WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE, SAY YOU PARTNER WITH, WITH THE GROUP, BUT THE GROUP'S PARTNERING WITH SOMEONE ELSE? SO LOOKING TO SPONSORSHIP YOU COULD, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. YEAH. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT YOU COULD DO. SO LIKE REP BOWERS, SHE, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS PEOPLE WHO COME IN AND HELP SPONSOR. RIGHT. UM, THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL. IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL WANTED TO DO, UM, YOU KNOW, I COULD PROVIDE YOU WITH WHATEVER INFORMATION YOU NEED TO HELP YOU SECURE, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE PARTNERS OR THOSE SPONSORS, AND THEY WOULD JUST BE A PART OF THE EVENT. YOU KNOW, JUST PROVIDE THEIR LOGOS TO ME. UM, YOU KNOW, AND WE CAN EVEN HELP YOU ALL WITH CREATING OR CRAFTING THAT INVITATION, RIGHT. IF THE GRAPHIC DESIGN PART OF IT. SO WE CAN PUSH THAT OUT FOR YOU OR PROVIDE THAT FOR YOU AS WELL. YEP. SO, BUT FOR YOU TO GET SPONSORS, UM, OR CITY PARTNERS, UM, MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE THE FULL BUDGET, BUT FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS A BUDGET, GOT HIS OWN BUDGET. MAYOR'S GOT HIS OWN BUDGET. BUT TO MY POINT, YOU, YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING? YEAH. YOU COULD HAVE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BEAR ALL THAT COST. YOU COULD HAVE FOLKS WHO COULD HELP CONTRIBUTE TO IT. ABSOLUTELY. AND YOU COULD EVEN GET SOMEONE TO SPONSOR THE FOOD. YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A RESTAURANT IN TOWN AND THEY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, BE FEATURED A NEW RESTAURANT OR SOMETHING AND THEY'RE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE THERE, UM, YOU COULD DEFINITELY GET A RESTAURANT TO, TO HOST OR SPONSOR. 'CAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A NICE WRITE OFF FOR THEM. AND SO THEN YEAH. YOU KNOW, LOCAL BUSINESS MM-HMM . SO ENGAGEMENT. YEP. YEAH. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT LIKE MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO DETERMINE FOOD AND THEN WHATEVER OUR SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE OPTION WOULD BE. MM-HMM . YES, SIR. OKAY. AND IT'S REALLY FOOD BECAUSE WE PROVIDE, LIKE I SAID, WE PROVIDE ALL THE TABLE MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES FOR IT. OKAY. UNLESS YOU WANT TO PROMOTE, YOU KNOW, BACK TO SCHOOL DRIVE OR WHATEVER, AND YOU WANNA HAVE AN INFORMATION TABLE, YOU, YOU COULD DO THAT, UM, AS WELL. GOTCHA. OKAY. MM-HMM . ANYTHING I HAVE NOT THOUGHT OF, OR MR. ARTHUR OR MS. KIMBERLY, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS IN THE ROOM? QUESTIONS? MM-HMM . OH, THERE, THAT WAS IT. I, I SAID DON'T TALK . I THINK QUESTION. SURE. STRATEGIC UHHUH. UM, WITH THESE, UH, UH, FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE, OH, WE BACK NOW. THERE WE GO. THERE. WE, OKAY. UM, WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE, UM, I'M CURIOUS, HOW'S, UM, IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S, SEEMS KIND OF THE HOPE IS TO GET, UM, AS MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE IN THE ROOM AS POSSIBLE, GET CITY LEADERS IN THERE, START CONVERSATIONS. THAT'S WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE. UM, HOWEVER I WANT TO SUBMIT. WOULD, WOULD THERE BE A MORE STRATEGIC AND THOUGHTFUL WAY, LIKE, TO [00:45:01] GET A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC IN THOSE KIND OF CONVERSATIONS WITH, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S JUST SAY WE'RE TRYING TO DRIVE AN INITIATIVE TO HEAR FROM THE ASIAN POPULATION ABOUT, UM, WATER IN DISTRICT SIX. THAT'S SUPER SPECIFIC, SUPER GRANULAR, BUT WE WANNA HEAR FROM WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THOSE NEIGHBORS AND THOSE CONS WITH CONSTITUENTS WITH THE HOPES TO MAYBE DRIVE A SOLUTION. AND, AND MAYBE STEP ONE IS, OKAY, DO YOU, IF YOU ARE ASIAN, IS THIS A SAFE PLACE FOR ASIANS TO LIVE IN MM-HMM . UM, THAT KIND OF THING. I, I'M CURIOUS, HAVE Y'ALL FACILITATED CONVERSATIONS LIKE THAT? UM, OR HAVE THEY KIND OF BEEN MORE, YOU KNOW, HEY, ONE COME ALL, YOU KNOW, WE JUST, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THAT. YEAH, SO, SO THEY HAVE BEEN ONE COME ALL, BUT I WILL SAY WHAT KAEL IS DOING, KAEL HAS MADE NOW THE INDIAN COMMUNITY COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO NOW THEY ARE BEING THE MAJORITY AT A LOT OF THESE DIMES. AT FIRST WHEN WE STARTED, IT WAS MORE, YOU KNOW, UM, MORE WHITE, UH, PARTICIPANTS. AND NOW, UH, IT'S, IT'S A PRETTY GOOD NUMBER OF INDIAN, UM, RESIDENTS WHO COME OUT BECAUSE NOW THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT IS, UH, A DISCUSSION BETWEEN A WHITE RESIDENT AND AN INDIAN RESIDENT ABOUT, UM, THEM FEELING COMFORTABLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT MADE THEM, UH, FEEL COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO COME OUT. SO THEY WERE ABLE TO, TO, TO DIALOGUE ON THAT. AND SO, D YOU DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES HAVE DIFFERENT CULTURAL THINGS, RIGHT? WHETHER IT'S THE BLACK COMMUNITY, ASIAN COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, INDIAN COMMUNITY, EVERYBODY'S GOT, YOU KNOW, A PARTICULAR WAY OF COMMUNICATING, SOCIALIZING AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT WHAT CAPPEL HAS DONE, YOU KNOW, WITH INTRODUCING THIS, UM, IS REALLY NOW A REALLY DIVERSE, UH, GROUP. BUT INDIAN POPULATION IS NOW REALLY COMING OUT AND, AND THEY, AND IT'S BECAUSE NOW THEY'RE SHARING WITH OTHERS THEIR EXPERIENCE, THEIR EXPERIENCE, AND IT'S LIKE, OH, IT'S NOT THAT BAD. YEAH. OKAY. I CAN COME. YEAH. RIGHT. SO WHAT I WOULD SAY IS, AS WE THINK ABOUT FUTURE MM-HMM . EVENTS, THOSE COULD BE ITEMS OR THINGS THAT WE POSSIBLY EXPLORE. BUT I DO LIKE THE IDEA OF KIND OF CENTERING IN ON CULTURE CONNECTION, JUST GETTING TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER AS PEOPLE AND LISTENING AND HEARING. SO THAT DOES RESONATE REALLY STRONG WITH ME. YEAH. I WANNA SHARE A QUITE, I'M GONNA KEEP, MY PHONE KEEPS CLOSING UP, BUT JUST AN EXAMPLE OF A, OF A QUESTION. UM, THIS IS FROM, THIS IS ON PERSONAL IDENTITY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE. SO, SO, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A, A LIBRARY OF OVER 50 TOPICS, AND THOSE TOPICS HAVE A VARIETY OF QUESTIONS, RIGHT. UM, SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS, IT COULD BE JUST A CHANGE OF A WORD, RIGHT? THAT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, THAT WOULD DRAW A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. UM, BUT I WANTED TO SHARE JUST A QUESTION. UM, HOW HAS YOUR UPBRINGING AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS? OKAY. SHARING EXPERIENCE OF HOW THIS SHOWS UP IN YOUR DAILY INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS. RIGHT. UM, HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED A SITUATION WHERE SOMEONE EXPRESSED A BIAS OR AN ASSUMPTION ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE WITHOUT KNOWING THE PERSON TELL ABOUT THE SITUATION AND HOW YOU HANDLED IT? YEAH. RIGHT. UM, THERE ARE JUST, THERE'S SO MANY OTHER, I MEAN, THESE ARE JUST, JUST A COUPLE. UM, WHAT IS A CULTURAL TRADITION THAT YOU WISH OTHERS UNDERSTOOD, ACKNOWLEDGED, OR RESPECTED? WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU? YEAH. RIGHT. AND SO THIS GIVES PEOPLE A CHANCE TO REFLECT ON THEM AND TO BE ABLE TO SHARE. UM, BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE ALL FOUR OF US AT THE TABLE, RIGHT? AS AS BLACK, BLACK, YOU KNOW, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, ALL FOUR OF US HAVE FOUR DIFFERENT LIVED EXPERIENCES. EXPERIENCES, RIGHT. IT, IT COULD BE WHERE WE'RE FROM, IT COULD BE BY THE WAY WE WERE RAISED, IT COULD BE A REGIONAL THING. RIGHT. UM, AND SO THOSE QUESTIONS, AND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE MAKE ASSUMPTIONS AND THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN MAKE ASSUMPTIONS WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS THAT JUST BECAUSE THAT THAT WHOLE ASIAN COMMUNITY IS THERE, THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS WITHIN THAT COMMUNITY. ABSOLUTELY. RIGHT. IT COULD BE THE DIALECT, IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, NATION. YEAH. YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY'RE FROM. YEAH. JUST WITH LIKE THE INDIAN COMMUNITY. YEAH. NATIONS FIRST GEN. SECOND GEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT. BUT ONE THING ABOUT THE MULTICULTURAL TABLE, UM, IS THE WAY THE QUESTIONS ARE WRITTEN, THE IDEAS FOR PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL LIVED EXPERIENCE. [00:50:01] AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THERE'S NO DISAGREEMENT. THAT'S RIGHT. DISAGREE ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE'S LIVED EXPERIENCE. SO MY PERCEPTION OF SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE A MEMBER OF OUR VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY WHO'S SITTING AT THE SAME TABLE WITH ME, MY FAVORITE TABLES HAVE MULTIPLE GENERATIONS, MULTIPLE CULTURES, MULTIPLE ORIENTATIONS. I WANT IT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT ALL OF THAT THERE. YEAH. BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT EVER ENCOUNTER EACH OTHER JUST IN, IN HAPPENSTANCE, ACTUALLY SIT AND LISTEN TO EACH OTHER AND FORM SOME UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S REAL INSTEAD OF WHAT WE THINK. YEAH. I LIKE THAT. YEAH. SO I'LL SAY MY FINAL QUESTION, AND THEN WE WILL GIVE YOU BACK YOUR TIME AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, IS AS WE THINK ABOUT THIS FIRST EVENT, HOW WOULD WE BEGIN THE PROCESS OF CURATING THAT LIST OR THAT LIST OF QUESTIONS? THAT BODY OF QUESTIONS WITH YOU? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT BASED ON US HAVING A CONVERSATION TODAY, YOU TAKE AWAY AND SEND TO ANGIE AND SHE GET BACK WITH US? OR IS THERE SOME DIALOGUE AND CONVERSATION THAT WE WOULD ENGAGE IN MAYBE KIND OF OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS BEFORE WE GET BACK TOGETHER AS A COMMISSION TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S AN INITIAL SET THAT MS. EDWARDS AND I HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT. SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YEAH. SO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A FOLLOW UP. OKAY. 'CAUSE I KNOW THE DOCUMENT THAT, THAT YOU SENT ME WAS VERY, WELL, IT WAS VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER. AND I, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY ORGANIZED AND VERY STRUCTURED, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A FOLLOW UP CONVERSATION TO REALLY HONE IN ON, IS THIS WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? OKAY. RIGHT. IS THIS WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE DOING? AND THEN UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU GOING WITH OUR TRADITIONAL FORMAT OUTSIDE OF THE SCRIBING WITH OUR FIRST ROUND AND SECOND ROUND? BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR MOSES AND MARIA, I DON'T THINK Y'ALL WERE HERE THE LAST TIME. OUR, OUR DON PROCESS, OH, AND COREY, OUR DON PROCESS IS ONE WHERE THE FIRST ROUND IS A LISTENING EXERCISE. THAT'S WHERE EVERYONE GETS A QUESTION, UM, FROM THE DECK OF CARDS THAT WE PROVIDE, WHICH IS THE QUESTIONS HE'S TALKING ABOUT. RIGHT. YOU DON'T GET TO SEE THOSE QUESTIONS THEIR FACE DOWN, AND YOU, YOU GET THE QUESTION, AND I ALWAYS SAY, THE QUESTION PICKS YOU, YOU DON'T PICK THE QUESTION. RIGHT. AND I'D SAY HALF THE TIME PEOPLE SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU ARE, RIGHT. , AH. AND SO YOU GET THAT QUESTION AND YOU READ THAT QUESTION OUT LOUD, AND WHILE YOU'RE READING THAT QUESTION, EVERYONE ELSE'S JOB IS JUST TO LISTEN. RIGHT. BECAUSE WE ARE SO READY TO RESPOND, RIGHT. SO WE LISTEN, SO WE CAN PROCESS. AND THE SECOND ROUND IS WHERE THEN YOU GO AND YOU DISCUSS WHAT YOU'VE HEARD. RIGHT? LET'S SEE, ARE WE GOOD LISTENERS? DID WE PROCESS, WHAT DID WE FIND IN COMMON WITH EACH OTHER THAT WE CAN NOW DISCUSS AND TALK ABOUT? RIGHT? UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THAT BRIDGE BUILDING HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, DURING THAT TIME TO WHERE BY THE TIME WE'RE DONE, EVERYBODY IS LIKE, LET'S GO TO LUNCH, YOU KNOW, LET'S, LET'S GET BACK TOGETHER. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE TRYING TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION AND, AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. SO, SO IT'S, IT'S A VERY IMPACTFUL, UM, EXPERIENCE. YEAH. OKAY. SO LET'S GET TOGETHER AND, AND NOW STRATEGIZE MORE, UH, INTENTIONALLY. YEAH. REAL QUICK, I THINK MARIA, DID YOU HAVE YEAH, I WAS ABOUT TO PIGGYBACK THESE QUESTIONS EARLIER MM-HMM . SO I, I KNOW IT WAS ASKED EARLIER, LIKE, WHAT TOPICS DO YOU USUALLY OH YES. BRING OUT, SO ON THE PRE-PLANNING STAGE, DO YOU STUDY THE CITY? BECAUSE I KNOW COPPEL IS WAY DIFFERENT. OH YEAH, FOR SURE. HARLAND, I KNOW THAT FOR SURE. SO DO YOU DO A CASE, I MEAN, UM, A NEEDS ASSESSMENT FIRST OR DO YOU WANNA MAKE, GET FAMILIAR WITH, WITH, WITH GARLAND IS ALL ABOUT THIS STUDY, BASICALLY, OR YEAH. SO YOU JUST USE OUT THE GENERIC QUESTIONS? NO, NO, I, I, I LEARNED FROM YOU. LIKE, SO WE WOULD TALK ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE CITY. OKAY. RIGHT. ARE THERE THINGS, ARE THERE ISSUES, ARE THERE PARTICULAR LITTLE, YOU KNOW, NICHES OR THINGS THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT? AND, AND YES, I WILL GO OUT AND I'LL READ ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, ABOUT TO SAY CARPEL READ ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GARLAND, UM, AND TRY TO FIND INFORMATION ON MY OWN JUST TO GIVE ME SOME, SOME, SOME BACKGROUND. UM, BUT DEFINITELY I'M, I'M RELYING ON YOU TO TELL ME WHAT, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE REALLY SEEKING TO DO, UM, HERE IN THE CITY? AND THEN WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO TOPICS, THERE ARE OVER 50 TOPICS. UM, AND SO YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, FROM, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH WE'VE DONE WOMEN'S HEALTH RIGHT. WHERE'S JUST WOMEN IN THE, IN THE ROOM JUST TALKING WOMEN TALK. RIGHT. UM, TO CIVILITY CONVERSATIONS. OKAY. SO, UM, AND, AND IF IT'S, IF WE DON'T HAVE IT, THEN WE'LL CURATE IT. OKAY. REAL QUICK QUESTION. WOULD YOU, UH, WOULD YOU GUYS HELP US SAY, PUT TOGETHER A TIMELINE? LIKE, WE NEED TO START ABSOLUTELY THIS BY THIS TIME, WE NEED TO HAVE THIS BY THIS TIME, WE NEED TO HAVE THIS AND WE'RE GONNA, 'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S JUST IN MY MIND AND, AND, AND I, I KNOW HOW I WORK. I THINK THAT'S KINDA WHERE WE WE'LL NEED REALLY TO START. I MEAN, I, THE QUESTIONS AND ALL THAT, I THINK THAT'S GREAT, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO, TO LOOK AT IF, IF THIS IS THE DATE OF THE EVENT AND WORK BACKWARDS. SO WE NEED WHAT WE NEED TO HAVE IN PLACE SO THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD [00:55:01] AS OPPOSED TO NOT GETTING IN THE BOTTLENECK OF ASKING THIS QUESTION VERSUS THAT QUESTION. YEAH. I ACTUALLY HAVE A PARTNER PLANNING GUIDE. OKAY, GOOD. RIGHT. SO IT'S A PARTNER PLANNING GUIDE JUST BASED ON A GENERAL TIMELINE. RIGHT. BUT THEN THAT'S WHERE WE, UH, STRUCTURE IT TO REALLY YOUR DATE AND, AND LIKE YOU SAY, WORK BACK. YEAH. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANY FINAL QUESTIONS? THIS WAS SO HELPFUL AND I MUST SAY WE DO HAVE A MOU WITH GARLAND, ISD, UM, FOR OUR TOGETHER WE LEARN PROGRAM. I DON'T KNOW IF I MENTIONED THAT LAST TIME. AND I'M WORKING WITH DR. LAKEISHA COLE PEPPER. UM, AND SO WE'RE BRINGING MORE, UM, GARLAND SCHOOLS, UM, INTO THAT PROGRAM. OKAY. ALRIGHT. I WILL MAKE A SHAMELESS PLUG. TODAY IS NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY AND PROJECT UNITY, ALONG WITH MORE THAN 3,200 OTHER NONPROFITS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DONATIONS. SO IF YOU WISH, VISIT NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY.ORG AND FIND THE NONPROFITS THAT MEAN THE MOST TO YOU, AND CONSIDER MAKING A GIFT. UM, IT'S REALLY A FABULOUS DAY OF GIVING AND IT'S THE BIGGEST ONE IN THE COUNTRY. MM-HMM . WE ARE RIGHT NOW OVER 78,000 DONORS AND OVER 60, AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE CHAMPIONS THAT ARE THE PEOPLE IN THE SEATS WHO ARE MAKING A SMALL, DOESN'T MATTER HOW BIG THE GIFT IS, BUT DOING SOMETHING TO SUPPORT THE PEOPLE DOING THIS KIND OF WORK IN THE THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE THAT. YOU, KIMBERLY . THIS IS WHY I HAVE MY T-SHIRT ON TODAY BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN FOUNDATION, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS ALL DAY. SO, BUT THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO WORKING WITH, WITH Y'ALL TO, TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. IT'S GONNA BE GREAT. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT ALL. SO AN WE CAN TALK OFFLINE AND TALK ABOUT KIND OF PREPARATION, UH, MOVING FORWARD. OKAY. THANK YOU. WE THINK WE CAN CONTINUE, UM, WITH THE DETAILS AT A LATER TIME. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. OUR, SO WE ARE AT ABOUT SEVEN O'CLOCK. ARE WE GOOD TO KEEP GOING? ANGE, WE, I I CAN BE HERE AS LONG AS YOU CAN BE HERE. UH, WE DO HAVE SOME OTHER ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO HIT. SO THOSE ARE IMPORTANT. YEAH. SO LEAVE EARLIER. THAT'S ME. SO CAN YOU STAY FOR LIKE MAYBE 10, 10 MINUTES? IS THAT POSSIBLE? YEAH, I CAN STAY. UM, OKAY. AND THE ONLY REASON I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE OUR VERY NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS CHAIR AND CO-CHAIR ELECTIONS FOR THIS COMMISSION. WOO. UM, AND DIFFERENT FROM THE PAST, WE DON'T HAVE AN ELECTION COMMITTEE WHO'S CALLING AND SAYING, HEY, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN RUNNING FOR THE CHAIR OR CO-CHAIR POSITION? UM, WE AT THIS TIME WILL OPEN UP THE FLOOR AND TAKE NOMINATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS. UM, IF THERE'S SOMEONE THAT YOU'D LIKE A LIKE TO RECOMMEND OR NOMINATE FOR CHAIR OR CO-CHAIR, AND THEY WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATION OR YOU CAN SELF NOMINATE FROM THE FLOOR AS WELL. SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN OUR FLOOR FOR, UH, CHAIR. SO DO WE DO THEM ONE AT A TIME AS LET'S START. SO CAN WE OPEN THE FLOOR FOR CHAIR NOMINATIONS, UH, FOR THE, UH, CMC ALSO? AREN'T THERE SOME PARAMETERS AROUND THAT? THERE'S NO LIMITATIONS. HOW MANY YEARS YOU CAN SHARE? SORRY. THERE. ISN'T THERE A LIMIT, UH, LIMITATION ON HOW MANY TIMES YOU CAN SHARE? I DON'T BELIEVE OR TERMS, IT'S TWO TERMS FOR EACH, EACH POSITION WHEN I WAS CHAIR. YEAH. UM, BUT I DON'T THINK ANYONE WHO CHAIR HAS GOT TWO. YEAH, THINK WIDE OPEN. WIDE OPEN. ANY NOMINATIONS FOR THE POSITION OF CHAIR? I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON'S FOR CHAIR SECOND, THE NOMINATION. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS ON THE FLOOR? THAT'S AN ELECTION. OKAY. SO IF THERE, THERE AREN'T ANY ADDITIONAL NOMINATIONS FROM THE FLOOR, WE HAVE HAD A NOMINATION BY MR. MERLE BILLER AND A SECOND BY MR. ARTHUR. GREG. UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE S WE HAVE A SHOW OF HANDS. SO ALL IN AGREEMENT IF YOU WERE RAISE YOUR HAND, UH, AND WITH THE PROPER SIGN. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY ARE OPPOSED? HAVE THE SAME OPTION WITH A NAY MATTER. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, CARRIE. MOTION CARRIES. I'M GONNA TRY AND DO Y'ALL PROUD I NEED Y'ALL. GOOD JOB. ALL RIGHT. OUR NEXT POSITION THAT [01:00:01] WE DO HAVE IS A POSITION OF VICE CHAIR. UM, AND WE WILL NOW OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR. AYE KIMBERLY, I SECOND THAT. CAN I THIRD IN FAVOR. OKAY. UM, SO I, I CAN DO IT. MY BANDWIDTH IS NOT WHAT EVERYONE MIGHT, WOULD, MIGHT WANT IT TO BE, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY ENOUGH. BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE IS INTERESTED, I DEFER AND WILL SUPPORT YOU. OKAY. SO, YOU KNOW, I AM HAPPY TO DO IT. I JUST AM, AM PRETTY OVER COMMITTED AS, AS AN, AS A HUMAN. OKAY. IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ALL GOOD. I'M WILLING, BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE IS INTERESTED AND YOU KNOW, REALLY AS, AS THE BABY BOOMER ON THIS COMMITTEE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMEONE YOUNGER STEP INTO THIS ROLE AND HELP AND SUPPORT AND MENTOR THAT PERSON. BUT I WILL GLADLY DO IT. SHOULD THAT BE THE, THE DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE? I WOULD. SO, HEY OZ, CAN I MAKE A NOMINATION MYSELF? ALRIGHT. I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, NOMINATE, UM, MR. COREY? YES, SIR. BRAND NEW. AND YOU KNOW WHY I SAY THAT I WAS BRAND NEW MEETING NUMBER TWO, I BELIEVE I SECOND E COREY'S CORNER A HUNDRED PERCENT. WHO SECONDED? ARTHUR. I IT ARTHUR. I'LL DO IT. ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE TWO NOMINATIONS ON THE FLOOR. SOUNDS LIKE MS. KIMBERLY HAS DECLINED DUE TO CAPACITY. SO WE WILL RESPECT THAT AND WE HONOR THAT. UM, THAT BEING SAID, THE OTHER NOMINATION ON THE FLOOR IS FOR MR. COREY AND MR. COREY MCLAREN TO BE SPECIFIC. UM, MAY I HAVE A SHOW OF HANDS AND THE SIGN OF I AYE. I WILL. ALRIGHT, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT MOTION PASSES. YES. WELCOME TO THE CHAIR OF VICE. WELCOME TO THE SEAT OF VICE CHAIR. SO FROM NOW ON YOU'LL BE RIGHT HERE, SIR. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND, UM, SPEECH, , , ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE ONE THING ON THAT. UM, ON IN THE BYLAWS NOW AND READING THEM AND THEY'RE SAYING SOME OF THE STUFF THAT WE CAN CHANGE, BUT IT SAYS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE ELECTION IN SEPTEMBER. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE PROBABLY NEED TO CHANGE IN THE BYLAWS. I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT 'CAUSE WELL THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS. IT SAYS WE CAN ON ON IF TWO THIRDS I THINK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT DISCUSSES OR I'M SAYING WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO BECAUSE EVERY, NO, WE CAN DO THAT, UH, DURING THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS WE CAN MAKE. YEAH. UM, AND LET ME, LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT IS, UM, BEING THAT THE WAY THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE ELECTED OR PUT ON SOMETIMES, LIKE THIS MARIA, SHE'S PUT ON THE BOARD LAST MONTH REALLY JUST THIS MONTH, THE ELECTIONS ARE THIS MONTH. SO IT GIVES YOU MEMBERS REALLY NO TIME TO GET THIS ON THE BOARD. YEAH. BEFORE THEY'RE MAKING A A, YOU KNOW, SELECTION FOR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR. YEAH. IF YOU GUYS WANTED TO MOVE THAT, WE CAN, WE CAN MAKE A MOTION HERE, YOUR AGENDA ITEMS AND THEN WE CAN OPEN UP DISCUSSION AND I THINK IT MIGHT EVEN SAY VOTE AUGUST ON THERE OR ON THE SEPTEMBER. SO I MEAN IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST TOO CLOSE. SO YOUNG CHOSE FUTURE, FUTURE AGENDA BECAUSE LAST YEAR I THINK WE DID OCTOBER LAST YEAR FOR SOME REASON. THE OTHER CHALLENGE AND IT WAS LATE. WE DID IT LATE. THE OTHER CHALLENGE IS FILLING THE COMMISSION. YEAH. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FREQUENTLY THERE ARE APPOINTMENTS THAT ARE NOT MADE ON CYCLE AND THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOMEONE WHO IS MORE NEW THAN NOT. YEAH. SO AS MUCH OPPORTUNITY AS WE CAN GIVE PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WORK IS. OKAY. YEAH. ALRIGHT, WELL WE CAN DEFINITELY ADD THAT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. YES. ALL RIGHT. WHAT I WILL DO IS DEFER OUR SUBCOMMITTEE, UH, CONVERSATION BASED ON OUR CONVERSATION WITH MS. EDWARDS. I DON'T FEEL WE'RE IN A POSITION JUST YET, SO I WILL GO AHEAD AND DEFER THAT TO KEEP US MOVING. AND THE NEXT ITEM IS BUDGET UPDATE FROM AN UH, I KNOW YOU NEED TO GO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY, GOOD. THANK YOU. ARE WE ALSO DEFERRING JUST NORMAL MEETING FREQUENCY? 'CAUSE THERE WE HAD DISCUSSION FOR BOTH, UM, MEETING AND SUBCOMMITTEE. UM, AS A REMINDER, IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS IT HAD BEEN A DISCUSSION TOPIC THAT MAY BE YOU MEET, UM, NOT EVERY MONTH THAT YEAH. OKAY. ARE WE DISCUSSING CAN, WE CAN DEFER, CAN WE HOLD THAT ONE? I WANTED TO BE CLEAR. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. WE CAN DEFER. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, YES FOR BUDGET UPDATE, UH, I, [01:05:01] IN YOUR PACKETS, THERE'S TWO HANDOUTS THAT I'D LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO. ONE OF THEM IS YOUR ENTIRE RUNNING BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. AS A REMINDER, THE CITY DOES FISCAL YEAR STARTING IN OCTOBER. SO WE'RE RUNNING UP ON THAT. SO THAT'S WHY YOUR UH, REMAINING BUDGET IS SO LOW. DO NOT PANIC. IT WILL RESET. UM, , WE HAVE, UM, EVERYTHING ACCOUNTED FOR RIGHT NOW THAT INCLUDES, UM, IT SAYS THREE TICKETS TO THE BRUNCH. IT I BOUGHT FOUR , THAT'S JUST A TYPO, I'LL FIX THAT. BUT, UM, IT IS THAT AMOUNT, UM, THAT INCLUDES TONIGHT'S DINNER, THAT INCLUDES THE SWAG BUDGET THAT WE'VE SPENT SO FAR. YOU DID ALLOCATE $3,500. I DIDN'T RUN UP ALL OF IT YET BECAUSE THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT WANT HAVE AN OPINION ON BECAUSE, UM, YOUR TOTAL REMAINING BALANCE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR IS $340 AND 5 CENTS. UM, KHARA MENTIONED THAT YOU GUYS LIKE TO PASS OUT THOSE SPECIFIC MINTS AT EVENTS. UM, SO I LOOKED UP HOW MUCH IT IS PER BAG. IT'S $36 AND 99 CENTS PER BAG AND IT'S A SIZABLE AMOUNT. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED TO SPEND THAT MONEY ON, I WAS GOING TO MAYBE SUGGEST JUST SPENDING AS MUCH MONEY THAT REMAINS IN THE BUDGET ON THOSE MINCE JUST SO YOU CAN STOCK UP. OKAY, I CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT. UM, THE OTHER HANDOUT THAT WE HAVE HERE IS WHAT WE DID SPEND MONEY ON AS FAR AS SWAG IS CONCERNED. UM, I WENT THROUGH WITH COURSERA, UM, AT THE END OF HER TERM AND WE PICKED OUT SOME THINGS. SOME OF THESE ARE REORDERS OF, UM, OF ITEMS THAT YOU GUYS LIKED IN THE PAST THAT, UM, WE THOUGHT THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONTINUE GOING THROUGH. SOME ARE NEW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED. THE NEW ITEMS, THERE'S SOME SAMPLES BACK HERE. THERE'S PRINTOUTS OF THE ONES THAT HAVEN'T COME IN SHIPPING YET. UM, WE ORDERED SOME WRISTBANDS, WE ORDERED SOME COLORING BOOKS FOR THE KIDS THAT WE THOUGHT WERE, UH, RELEVANT AND CUTE. UM, WE ORDERED A NEW P PLANCO BOARD TO USE IF, UM, IN LIEU OF THE WHEEL. SO YOU HAVE TWO WHEELS AND INVENTORY, TWO DIFFERENT SIDES OF WHEELS, AND THEN YOU HAVE A PLINKO BOARD. SO YOU CAN USE ANY OR BOTH OR WHATEVER COMBINATION AT THESE EVENTS. UM, YOU HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY NOW. UM, THERE'S SOME VISORS, THERE'S SOME, I PUT PHONE HOLDERS. I MEAN LIKE THE UM, POP SOCKETS THAT ARE OVER HERE. UH, WE REORDERED YOUR FANNY PACKS, YOUR TOWELS, YOUR FLASHLIGHTS, YOUR UMBRELLAS. UM, WE GOT SOME NEW DRAWSTRING BAGS. THERE'S A SAMPLE OVER HERE. I THINK THOSE CAME OUT REALLY GOOD. YEAH, , YOUR LOGO'S REALLY PRETTY SO IT LOOKS NICE ON THAT BAG. YEAH, . UH, SO WE LIKED THAT. UM, AND THEN SOME STICKERS TO PUT ON THE COLORING BOOKS, UH, KHARA AND I DECIDED THAT THAT WOULD PROBABLY LOOK BETTER THAN THE GENERIC BRANDING THAT WAS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE STICKER BOOKS. SO THAT'S ONE LOGISTICAL THING I WILL MENTION HERE. UM, WE'RE GONNA NEED PEOPLE TO PUT STICKERS ON COLORING BOOKS BEFORE WE USE THEM. SO IF WE WANT TO USE THEM FOR THE SAFETY FEST. YEAH, YOU MIGHT WANT TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT. WE ONLY ORDERED 200. UH, YOU'LL PROBABLY GO THROUGH 200 VERY QUICKLY, BUT LIKE I SAID, THE BUDGET'S GONNA RESET AT IN OCTOBER. SO IF YOU LIKE THOSE AND WE WANNA REORDER THEM, WE CAN REORDER THEM WHENEVER YOU WOULD LIKE. UM, BUT JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. WE ONLY HAVE 200, UM, IN STOCK AT THE MOMENT. UM, OTHER THAN THAT WE JUST HAVE THE SHIPPING COSTS. THERE WAS A COUPON. UM, AND THEN THAT'S WHAT BRINGS US TO THE ALLOCATED BUDGET OF $3,500. THERE'S $110 AND 24 CENTS LEFT FROM THAT. UM, IN TOTAL WE HAVE SPENT $3,389 AND 76 CENTS. SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE, I CAN SPEND THAT MONEY IN ADDITION TO THE LAST COUPLE HUNDRED DOLLARS LEFT FROM YOUR MAIN BUDGET JUST TO RESTOCK THOSE MINTS. SO THIS ONE 10 WOULD BE ON TOP OF THE THREE 40. THAT'S, UH, THREE 40 IS ALL INCLUSIVE. ALL. SO ONE 10 IS JUST WHAT'S REMAINING FROM WHAT WAS SPECIFICALLY ALLOCATED FOR BUDGET, UM, PREVIOUSLY AND THEN IN ADDITION TO ABOUT 230 OR SO REMAINING FROM YOUR GENERAL BUDGET. OKAY. YEAH, GO AHEAD. UH, COMMENT IN THAT. WOULD THAT NEED TO BE AN AGENDA ITEM EVERY TIME ON THE BUDGET ON WHAT WE SPEND? 'CAUSE I'M LOOKING AT BEFORE Y'ALL CAME, IF WE, WE AVERAGED UH, ABOUT 300 AND SOMETHING DOLLARS A MONTH ON FOOD. IT $3,500 OF OUR ENTIRE BUDGET WAS SPENT ON FOOD THIS PAST YEAR ON OUR MEALS. AND SO I, I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE TAKEN OVER AND THAT LOOKS GOOD. WE'RE AVERAGING 1 65 AS OPPOSED TO 451 FOR LAST YEAR. AND THAT WAS INTENTIONAL FROM OUR LAST CONVERSATION OF DIALING DOWN ON WHAT WE DO FOR DINNER. UM, VOTE ON THAT'S KIND OF A STAFF DECISION. YEAH. YEAH. THAT UPON OURSELVES, WELL JUST FOR OUR, OUR, FOR OUR, THE REST OF US, WE WOULD HAVE A WHOLE LOT MORE TO SPEND IF WE WEREN'T SPENDING IT ALL ON. JUST, I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S ALMOST 50% OF THE BUDGET ON, ON FOOD KIND OF CHEAP. SO YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. YEAH. I LOVE IT. STEWARD THE RESEARCH. YEAH. YEAH, OF COURSE. WE'RE ABOUT THAT. UM, POINT OF CLARIFICATION PLEASE. DIRECTION ELECTION. SURE. WE WANNA SPEND THE BUDGET, RIGHT? WE DON'T WANNA END UP WOOD LIKE WELL NO, WE DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE ANY BUDGET ON THE TABLE. WE WANT SPEND [01:10:01] IT AND TO BE, TO BE CLEAR, WE ARE THE ONLY COMMISSION OR BOARD THAT HAS A BUDGET TO DO WHAT WE DO. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHOWING OUR PHYSICAL RESPONSIBILITY IN WHAT IS BEING PROVIDED TO US AND HOW WE ARE USING IT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE CITY OF GARLAND. OKAY. SO THANK YES, THANK YOU. GREAT QUESTION. ALRIGHT, SO IF THERE AREN'T ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ANANG HAS PROPOSED THAT WE STOCK UP ON THOSE MINTS, LOOKS LIKE WE CAN PURCHASE ABOUT NINE BAGS. BECAUSE HERE'S THE THING, WHEN WE HAVE THE SWAG, WE WILL NOT HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO STRATEGICALLY PLACE A FEW OF THE SWAG ITEMS ON THERE. A LOT OF THE ITEMS ARE SOME OF THE MINT THINGS. AND SO WE DO GO THROUGH THOSE PRETTY QUICKLY. UM, SO I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE THAT PURCHASE UNLESS THERE ARE ANY CONCERNS. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. I'LL GET THAT ORDERED AND YOUR BUDGET WILL RESET IN OCTOBER AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DECIDE ON OTHER THINGS AT THAT POINT, WE CAN REVISIT. ALL RIGHT. SO THE NEXT ITEM IS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE, UM, FREQUENCY OF OUR MEETINGS AS A COMMISSION, UH, IS ONE OF THE FUTURE, UH, ITEMS FOR OUR NEXT AGENDA. AND THEN DO WE NEED TO NOW ANGE THAT WE ARE STARTING OVER OR HAVE OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS? I'M THINKING ABOUT A PLANNING MEETING BECAUSE WE DID NOT HAVE OUR PLANNING MEETING THIS YEAR. SO I WOULD LOVE TO MAYBE ADD A CONVERSATION AROUND HAVING A PLANNING MEETING, UM, FOR THE BOARD OVERALL OKAY. TO THE NEXT AGENDA. SURE. I I WILL ADD THAT TO THE NEXT AGENDA. YEAH. ANY OTHER ITEMS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION ON THE NEXT AGENDA? I THINK MERLE YOU WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT WAS YOUR NEXT ITEM? WELL, NO, THE ONLY OTHER THING WAS JUST WAS, WAS THE BUDGET. BUT ONE THING WHEN THE ORDERING FOR THAT ON THE FUTURE MM-HMM. IS, IS DISCUSS THE BUSINESS CARDS AND I THINK IT SHOULD JUST ALL BE GENERIC. YEAH. 'CAUSE I GOT 500 CARDS LEFT NOW AND I WON'T USE THEM. YEAH. I LIKE THAT. IT'S COOL THOUGH. SO WE CAN ADD THAT THERE. WE HAVE, WE HAVE SOME ORDERED. SO, UM, ONCE THEY COME IN I'LL BRING THEM TO EVERY MEETING AND IF YOU THINK THAT YOU NEED SOME IN YOUR POCKET FOR WHATEVER REASON, YOU CAN JUST GRAB FROM THE PILE I'LL REORDER IS NECESSARY. PERFECT. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN THE OTHER ITEM WAS, UM, TO TALK ABOUT FUTURE ELECTIONS. YEAH. SO CAN WE ADD THAT TO THE NEXT AGENDA? OKAY. THERE WAS ALSO ONE THING, I MEANT TO MENTION THIS EARLIER. UM, WE HAVE ASKED A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS PLANNING TO COME SPEAK TO THE COMMISSION, UM, DUE TO SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED AT THE LAST MEETING. UM, SO WE GOT, UM, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM EACH DEPARTMENT TO AGREE TO COME TO A FUTURE MEETING. UM, SO WE COULD DO THAT AT THE UPCOMING MEETING IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO. MM-HMM . OKAY. THAT WORKS. AND ONE LAST QUESTION, ANGE, I KNOW WE ARE ON THE AGENDA FOR DECEMBER TO TALK TO COUNCIL ABOUT OUR YEAR END REPORT. CORRECT. I'M WONDERING IF WE SHOULD HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT. YEAH, THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA. YEAH. AS A BOARD SO THAT WE CAN REVIEW IT TOGETHER. OKAY. CAN I ADD ONE? CAN I ADD ONE MORE THING? I'M SO SORRY. OCTOBER 1ST. UM, MY ORGANIZATION'S PARTNERING WITH, UH, BUSTY MIDDLE SCHOOL TO DO A COMMUNITY NIGHT OUT EVENT. CAN WE ADD THAT TO THE CALENDAR OR WHATEVER WE CAN GET OUT OR CAN, IS THAT PART OF THE FUTURE AGENDA? NO. SO I GUESS WHAT I'D SAY SINCE IT'S OCTOBER 1ST, THAT'S LIKE NEXT WEEK. OH. SO HOW ABOUT, HOW ABOUT YOU SEND ANGE YOUR INFORMATION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE AND SHE CAN SEND A, SHE CAN SEND IT OUT TO ALL OF US. 'CAUSE WE CAN'T SEND OUT MASS EMAILS TO ALL OF US, BUT ANGE CAN SEND IT OUT AND THEN YOU CAN, WE CAN CONTACT YOU IF WE'RE AVAILABLE TO VOLUNTEER. PERFECT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE WILL CALL THIS MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:21 PM THANK YOU. GREAT. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . GOOD JOB. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.