Equity Board · Wednesday, June 4, 2025 · City Council Digest

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of May 7, 2025 Meeting

packet pp.3–5

▶ Watch from 1:07 Open packet at p.3 ↗

Staff report:

APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 05-07-25 Equity Board Minutes Page [0000] CITY OF ISSAQUAH Equity Board 6:00 PM Steelhead Room, 235 1st Ave. May 7, 2025 MINUTES SE, Issaquah

4. CHAIR REPORT

Opening Question

10 min · Priti Mody-Pan, Equity Board Chair

5. STAFF REPORT

Updates Since May 7, 2025 Meeting

5 min · Gillian Straub, Management Analyst

6. AGENDA ITEMS

Central Issaquah Station & Alignment Study Introduction (I)

30 min · Thomas Valdriz, Senior Transportation Planner · packet pp.7–18

Topics: Land Use

Open packet at p.7 ↗

Staff report:

The June 4th meeting will introduce the Central Issaquah Station & Alignment Study ("the Study") and provide the Equity Board (EB) with: • An overview of the City’s light rail planning efforts, • The Study’s purpose and timeline, and • Opportunities for the EB to engage and provide input at key milestones.

Equity and the City's Boards and Commissions - Evans Consulting Group Presentation (D)

30 min · Gillian Straub, Management Analyst · packet pp.19–153

Topics: Equity

Open packet at p.19 ↗

Staff report:

has proposed actions listed in that chapter as well. Please note that the attached report is unformatted, and the agenda may be updated prior to the June 4th meeting of the Equity Board to include the formatted version, but no content will change.

Chair and Vice Chair Annual Election Facilitated by: Gillian Straub, Management Analyst

Action · 20 min · packet pp.155–160

Topics: Elections

Open packet at p.155 ↗

Staff report:

CITY OF ISSAQUAH EQUITY BOARD RULES & REGULATIONS

1503 segments .txt ↗

0:02 ↗ Okay. Well, uh, good evening and I call

0:05 ↗ the June 4th meeting of the equity board

0:08 ↗ to

0:09 ↗ order. And let's see. So, we Okay. On

0:13 ↗ the agenda, we never have roll call, but

0:15 ↗ this is now when we do roll call. Yes.

0:18 ↗ Okay. And can you assist with that or

0:21 ↗ Yeah. Would you like me to call

0:22 ↗ everyone's names or just note the

0:24 ↗ excused absences? Um, maybe just note

0:27 ↗ the excused. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so it

0:30 ↗ looks like we're waiting. Uh, Kelly let

0:32 ↗ me know that she would be here, so

0:34 ↗ waiting on her. Um, Nisha let me know

0:36 ↗ that she wouldn't be here. And then

0:38 ↗ Caric also let us know that he would be

0:40 ↗ late due to travel. Um, and then let me

0:43 ↗ see. Canala also let me know that he

0:45 ↗ would be a bit late as well. So that's

0:48 ↗ it. Okay. So we might have to squeeze a

0:51 ↗ couple more people around the table at

0:52 ↗ some point. Okay. Okay. And then it

0:55 ↗ looks like there is no public comment

0:58 ↗ and I don't see anyone online or in the

1:01 ↗ room. So, we're good on

1:04 ↗ that. Okay. So, the next item on the

1:07 ↗ agenda is the approval of minutes. And

1:11 ↗ um I'd like us all to take a moment and

1:13 ↗ uh scan the minutes in the board packet

1:16 ↗ and uh kind of note whether there's any

1:19 ↗ kind of uh corrections that need to be

1:22 ↗ made or not. And when someone is ready,

1:25 ↗ um, they can make a motion to approve.

2:00 ↗ I make a motion to

2:02 ↗ preview. And do I have a second? Second.

2:06 ↗ All right. Okay. Um any uh discussion,

2:09 ↗ corrections, or uh feedback

2:16 ↗ needed? All right. I think with that we

2:18 ↗ can consider the

2:21 ↗ minutes. All right. So, next item is the

2:25 ↗ chair report, which is our um opening

2:27 ↗ question. The purpose of the opening

2:29 ↗ question is to get everyone's voice into

2:31 ↗ the room because once you get your voice

2:33 ↗ into the room, it's easier to speak up

2:36 ↗ uh throughout the meeting. And it's also

2:38 ↗ an opportunity for us to get to know

2:40 ↗ each other a little bit better. And so,

2:42 ↗ with that, the the icebreaker or opening

2:44 ↗ question is what to you signals the

2:47 ↗ start of summer? And whoever wants to go

2:50 ↗ first, please start and then poporn it

2:52 ↗ over to the next

2:55 ↗ person. And Thomas and Sarah, you're

2:57 ↗ welcome to participate.

3:02 ↗ Oh, sorry. Oh, yeah. Having having grown

3:05 ↗ up, I I think a lot in the Pacific

3:07 ↗ Northwest, um, when I start to see the

3:09 ↗ blackberry blossoms, that's usually what

3:12 ↗ signals summer to me or like roses

3:15 ↗ starting. Um, and if I need to get my

3:17 ↗ fan out. Yeah.

3:21 ↗ So, just Yeah.

3:23 ↗ Okay. Um, couple things. Um, being able

3:26 ↗ to move my plants outside because they

3:29 ↗ will survive. And then, um, the other

3:31 ↗ thing is just not having to wear

3:33 ↗ sweaters. That's the biggest like

3:35 ↗ trigger for me to be able to be like,

3:37 ↗ it's summer time. Uh, Leslie, what about

3:41 ↗ you? Um, I'd say what signals summer to

3:44 ↗ me is, um, when I start seeing all the

3:47 ↗ plants and hanging baskets out at Fred

3:49 ↗ Meyer, that's when I know the weather

3:52 ↗ has officially changed and um, summer's

3:54 ↗ here. So, yeah, that means I get to play

3:56 ↗ in the dirt, too. So, yeah, good times.

3:59 ↗ Yeah, this gentleman here. Um, yeah, for

4:03 ↗ me, I'm Paul Sold, senior transportation

4:05 ↗ planner for the city. Um, thanks for

4:07 ↗ having me here. Uh, for me, my summer

4:10 ↗ starts when I get to go hiking. Um, so

4:14 ↗ it's sort of whenever I get around to

4:16 ↗ planning a hike, some of my summer

4:19 ↗ starts. Um, popcorn.

4:22 ↗ For me, it's when I switch over my

4:24 ↗ winter burks to my summer

4:26 ↗ BS wear. So, it's like that's when I'm

4:29 ↗ like, okay, it's summer time. What's the

4:31 ↗ difference between them? Ah, I'm glad

4:33 ↗ you asked. Winter BS are closed. They

4:36 ↗ kind of look like closed Crocs, but then

4:39 ↗ the summer ones are like the two strap

4:41 ↗ sandals. It's pretty fun.

4:44 ↗ I would say um seeing all the pollen

4:47 ↗ flying around the air and then leaving

4:51 ↗ for work in the daylight and then also

4:53 ↗ coming back from work in the daylight.

4:57 ↗ Um, I would say like when the sun is

4:59 ↗ still like out at like 9 or like 10 p.m.

5:01 ↗ and like my bright like my room's still

5:03 ↗ bright, I don't have to like turn on the

5:04 ↗ light. That like signals that like here,

5:07 ↗ which I really like.

5:10 ↗ Yeah. Oh, thank you. Um, as a teacher of

5:13 ↗ 29 years and a student for, you know, 16

5:16 ↗ years, 17 years before that, summer

5:19 ↗ vacation is summer. So, when school is

5:22 ↗ done for the year, to me that's summer.

5:25 ↗ So,

5:29 ↗ uh, I think the first really good

5:30 ↗ watermelon is like the like that first

5:33 ↗ bite. Like I'm preemptively buying them

5:35 ↗ now and they're okay, but it's not we're

5:37 ↗ not there yet. So, that's my kind of

5:39 ↗ signal for the start of summer. Sarah,

5:43 ↗ um, I think I have two. One is when when

5:46 ↗ your dog's out and like the ab is dead.

5:49 ↗ um in the city of Seattle. That's when I

5:51 ↗ think of summer or after folk life

5:54 ↗ starts in Seattle, like festival season.

5:56 ↗ I think of summer festival time. Another

5:59 ↗ one.

6:02 ↗ Uh I think I've locked. Okay. For me,

6:05 ↗ it's um when we stop having to worry

6:08 ↗ about the cushions being outside of the

6:11 ↗ backyard and having to pull them in,

6:13 ↗ check the forecast like compulsive to

6:15 ↗ make sure they're not getting ruined.

6:18 ↗ All

6:19 ↗ right. So, now we're on to the staff

6:22 ↗ reports. And Julian, do you have any

6:24 ↗ updates for us? Yeah, just a few brief

6:26 ↗ updates since the last meeting first.

6:28 ↗ Um, it'll be on all of your July

6:31 ↗ agendas. Um, but there's a reserved spot

6:33 ↗ at Culture Fest for equity board. Um, so

6:37 ↗ we can talk about that more at the next

6:39 ↗ meeting. Um, and we had two members who

6:41 ↗ were interested in receiving the city's

6:43 ↗ Junth proclamation, which is happening

6:46 ↗ uh next Monday. So, thank you to Leslie

6:48 ↗ and Heather for for stepping up on that.

6:50 ↗ Um, so I'll send out the link so

6:52 ↗ everyone can view it um live if you want

6:55 ↗ to and then I'll send out the recording

6:56 ↗ with a timestamp for for when it

6:58 ↗ actually happens. You all can view it as

7:00 ↗ well. So, that's all I've got. Great.

7:04 ↗ Okay. Well, we are just clipping right

7:06 ↗ along. I think well ahead of schedule.

7:09 ↗ So, uh, our next item is Thomas Beldras

7:12 ↗ coming to us to talk about the central

7:14 ↗ isquestation and alignment study. Hi,

7:18 ↗ Kelly. And you were here for some of us

7:22 ↗ back in October to kind of also start

7:25 ↗ this off. So, uh, we're looking forward

7:27 ↗ to hearing uh, your presentation today.

7:30 ↗ Thank you.

7:42 ↗ Thank you, chair. And yeah, appreciate

7:43 ↗ the opportunity to speak to the equity

7:45 ↗ board. Um, I met many of you uh at our

7:49 ↗ little uh social event um for all the

7:53 ↗ new board members. Um but it's also

7:55 ↗ great to see a lot of the old board

7:56 ↗ members. Um, and yeah, as preacher

8:00 ↗ mentioned, I was uh at the equity board

8:01 ↗ in October last um I have another uh

8:05 ↗ thing that I will be bringing up with

8:07 ↗ the equity board in a couple months, but

8:09 ↗ I'm excited to chat with you all about

8:11 ↗ this topic. Um, this is a topic that

8:13 ↗ I've mentioned uh previously. Um, we're

8:17 ↗ here to talk about light rail planning.

8:19 ↗ Um, it's sort of a long uh marathon sort

8:23 ↗ of planning effort. Um but this is sort

8:26 ↗ of the latest uh effort in this um long

8:30 ↗ planning uh journey that we're going

8:32 ↗ together. Uh so this presentation I'll

8:34 ↗ first give a little bit of background

8:36 ↗ information on the plan activities that

8:38 ↗ we've done over the last decade or so.

8:41 ↗ Talk about the purpose of this

8:43 ↗ discussion which is a uh study that

8:46 ↗ we're embarking on um beginning in a

8:49 ↗ couple weeks. Um, it's a 18-month uh

8:53 ↗ project, but I'm hoping to uh engage

8:55 ↗ with the board along the

8:57 ↗ way. Um, so in a nutshell, the city has

9:01 ↗ been planning for light rail for over a

9:04 ↗ decade. Central Isakqua uh is a

9:07 ↗ neighborhood of the city. Um it was

9:10 ↗ designated as a regional growth center

9:14 ↗ uh which means that we're expecting the

9:15 ↗ majority of jobs and housing growth uh

9:18 ↗ through 2050 to be funneled into this

9:20 ↗ one neighborhood. Um in 2016

9:24 ↗ uh many of you may have voted on this

9:26 ↗ but ST3 Sound Transit 3 ballot measure

9:29 ↗ was approved and this expands

9:31 ↗ high-capacity transit um throughout the

9:33 ↗ region. Um so we can see like downtown

9:36 ↗ Redmond station just opened last month.

9:38 ↗ Um and there's uh other um you know

9:41 ↗ connective buses that are sort of

9:43 ↗ associated with that. So the goal is to

9:46 ↗ uh just make transit better uh more

9:49 ↗ reliable and expand that throughout the

9:51 ↗ region and Isiqua will be the recipient

9:54 ↗ of that um in the 2040s. So we're sort

9:57 ↗ of uh further down the line but these

10:00 ↗ these things do take a lot of money. So

10:02 ↗ it's sort of banking all that cash

10:04 ↗ between now and then and also um

10:07 ↗ construction and all that takes a while.

10:10 ↗ Uh so in

10:13 ↗ 2024 and this was maybe one of the first

10:16 ↗ times that I have engaged with equity

10:18 ↗ board. I've been with the city for a

10:21 ↗ couple years. Um but we started

10:24 ↗ developing some initial plans on sort of

10:27 ↗ how we can think about light rail um and

10:29 ↗ working with Sound Transit who's the

10:31 ↗ decision maker. Um so we developed a

10:34 ↗ guide for it's basically our strategy

10:36 ↗ document to um say how we're going to

10:38 ↗ work with Sound Transit. Um and then in

10:41 ↗ April

10:43 ↗ uh city council approved the stationary

10:46 ↗ vision and guiding principles. I had

10:48 ↗ taken this item to equity board uh last

10:52 ↗ year and we sort of talked about um some

10:55 ↗ ideas about what the station could look

10:57 ↗ like um how it should feel and this and

11:00 ↗ that. So um that was approved in in

11:03 ↗ April. So um this is sort of a

11:05 ↗ continuation of that. Uh now looking at

11:07 ↗ potential station locations that we're

11:09 ↗ interested in as a

11:11 ↗ community. Um so here's some maps. Um

11:14 ↗ this is central Isqua in uh in the black

11:17 ↗ bold. Uh and the regional growth center

11:19 ↗ is a subset of that. This is where the

11:22 ↗ majority of jobs and housing growth is

11:24 ↗ uh supposed to occur between now and

11:27 ↗ 2050. And I think you can probably see

11:29 ↗ my cursor here, but this is like Costco

11:33 ↗ headquarters. Um and then the target is

11:35 ↗ over here. Um Safeway, etc. REI. Um and

11:40 ↗ then this is like the Isqua transit

11:42 ↗ center where many of us um take the bus

11:44 ↗ into um

11:48 ↗ Seattle. This is the expected route of

11:52 ↗ the South Kirkland Isiqua. We're calling

11:54 ↗ it Ski Link. Um just give a little bit

11:58 ↗ of mountain branding here. Uh but it is

12:01 ↗ expected to terminate in central Isqua.

12:04 ↗ Um and then it will go through uh

12:07 ↗ Eastgate over by Belleview College and

12:09 ↗ then it'll wrap through the existing

12:11 ↗ stations in Belleview and then terminate

12:14 ↗ in South

12:17 ↗ Kirkland. So again this is one of the

12:21 ↗ first documents that we worked on. This

12:23 ↗ really uh talks about what is important

12:27 ↗ for a station to be successful from like

12:30 ↗ a um just like a writership perspective.

12:33 ↗ people riding light rail. We also talk

12:36 ↗ about the expected timeline that we

12:39 ↗ think Sound Transit will have based on

12:43 ↗ current information and the things that

12:45 ↗ we're thinking about as a community in

12:47 ↗ terms of strategic considerations. We

12:50 ↗ are end of the line, so there's going to

12:51 ↗ be different um operational things that

12:55 ↗ would be necessary for end of the line

12:56 ↗ versus like something midline um on a

12:59 ↗ route.

13:02 ↗ So one of the first things that we

13:04 ↗ learned as we were developing this

13:06 ↗ original document is that we need to

13:08 ↗ take some proactive steps between now

13:10 ↗ and when Sound Transit approaches us. So

13:12 ↗ the first thing was to uh establish the

13:14 ↗ vision and guiding principles just to

13:16 ↗ sort of ground ourselves in what it is

13:18 ↗ that we're hoping to get with the

13:20 ↗ station. Um so this document is uh

13:23 ↗ pretty extensive. I think it's like 70

13:25 ↗ pages of just like information that

13:28 ↗ we've gathered. Um there's a short uh

13:30 ↗ read on our city website that talks

13:33 ↗ about um just in a more crystallized

13:35 ↗ form what the vision and guiding

13:36 ↗ principles are, but it essentially boils

13:39 ↗ down to um having a diversity of

13:41 ↗ experiences and uses in the area. Um

13:45 ↗ having community connections and feeling

13:48 ↗ uh you know connected to uh both the

13:51 ↗ city itself but then within the

13:53 ↗ neighborhood. And then ultimately it's

13:55 ↗ about having really good transit service

13:57 ↗ and being able to get there um in an

13:59 ↗ efficient

14:02 ↗ way. So now we're talking about the

14:05 ↗ station uh and alignment study. So this

14:08 ↗ is really bridging everything that we've

14:10 ↗ learned so far. Um ultimately the

14:13 ↗ primary deliverable is to have a

14:15 ↗ planning report that we give to Sound

14:17 ↗ Transit. And we can think of this as

14:19 ↗ sort of an advocacy opportunity. um

14:23 ↗ we've already defined what the community

14:25 ↗ is hoping to get with a um station area.

14:28 ↗ Um and so now we're looking at which

14:30 ↗ areas around the city would best match

14:33 ↗ the vision and guiding principles that

14:35 ↗ we've talked about so far.

14:37 ↗ Um so to get here we're going to study a

14:40 ↗ lot of the existing conditions. Um you

14:43 ↗ know what is in the ground today and

14:44 ↗ then what we're expecting in 2044

14:48 ↗ um by the time that Sound Transit is

14:50 ↗ ready to provide service.

14:53 ↗ Um and then using the vision guiding

14:56 ↗ principles we're going to create

14:57 ↗ criteria. So like a rubric essentially

15:00 ↗ to score um different locations. So,

15:03 ↗ we're going to do that in advance so

15:05 ↗ that we're not like sort of uh fitting

15:07 ↗ it. Uh we want to make sure that upfront

15:10 ↗ we're talking about how we would score

15:11 ↗ projects and then we would look at up to

15:14 ↗ six locations and then ultimately prefer

15:16 ↗ one which we're calling the locally

15:18 ↗ preferred

15:21 ↗ alternative. So, I would love to bring

15:24 ↗ the equity board along as we're doing

15:26 ↗ this project. It's 18 months. Um so,

15:30 ↗ here we are at the beginning. We haven't

15:31 ↗ even kicked off the project yet, but I

15:33 ↗ would love to continue um bringing this

15:36 ↗ topic to the equity board um potentially

15:39 ↗ in uh the fourth quarter of this year if

15:42 ↗ not a little bit earlier. Um hoping to

15:44 ↗ develop some criteria that we can then

15:47 ↗ use for um alternative uh analysis to

15:51 ↗ score different locations. So this is

15:55 ↗ the rough timeline. Um, it could change.

15:57 ↗ Um, we haven't kicked the the project

15:59 ↗ off, but this is essentially what we we

16:01 ↗ think it'll look

16:03 ↗ like. And that's all I have. Happy to

16:07 ↗ answer any questions or address any

16:09 ↗ comments you have.

16:12 ↗ Any questions or comments for Thomas?

16:18 ↗ I do.

16:20 ↗ do um I mean I don't think there's a lot

16:23 ↗ of history in our area around this type

16:26 ↗ of uh uh planning I guess. Um do you do

16:32 ↗ you know what the likelihood is of Sound

16:33 ↗ Transit accepting the the preferred

16:36 ↗ location?

16:38 ↗ Yeah. So,

16:40 ↗ um, developing a preferred location is

16:44 ↗ really, um, the idea came from what

16:47 ↗ other cities and other jurisdictions

16:48 ↗ have done. Um, so this is a proven

16:52 ↗ tactic. Um, and it may not be that we

16:55 ↗ get exactly what we asked for, but by

16:58 ↗ defining what we're hoping to get and

17:00 ↗ that that's sort of it grounds us in

17:02 ↗ this is like locally what we want. Sound

17:05 ↗ Transit as a regional entity has their

17:07 ↗ own priorities. Um, but if we're saying

17:10 ↗ upfront this like the options that you

17:13 ↗ provide us should meet our preferences,

17:16 ↗ we can sort of meet in the middle or

17:19 ↗ potentially get a little bit closer to

17:21 ↗ what we want. So,

17:23 ↗ um I don't know that any agency has

17:27 ↗ gotten exactly defined exactly what they

17:30 ↗ want, but the goal of this project isn't

17:32 ↗ to um you know do all the work that

17:35 ↗ Sound Transit already has to do. We're

17:38 ↗ just trying to give them a goalpost and

17:41 ↗ this is this is ultimately the vision

17:44 ↗ that we have. So, we'd love to have

17:45 ↗ something that meets this as close as

17:48 ↗ possible.

17:53 ↗ And then um so it sounds like the

17:56 ↗ sighting decision has a lot of equity

17:59 ↗ implications, you know, for who benefits

18:03 ↗ from being close to transit, uh

18:05 ↗ businesses who are closed, all of those

18:08 ↗ things. And so,

18:11 ↗ um I would expect that it would play a

18:14 ↗ pretty big part in your rubric

18:16 ↗ development. It it will. Yeah, equity is

18:19 ↗ super important. um many cities are

18:22 ↗ playing catch-up where they hadn't

18:24 ↗ considered equity um at the onset and so

18:27 ↗ there's a lot of unintended consequences

18:29 ↗ that can come with that. So we're trying

18:31 ↗ to um build it in before we even kick

18:34 ↗ this off and ultimately it's not the

18:36 ↗ city's decision where the station goes,

18:38 ↗ but we're trying to advocate for

18:40 ↗ something that's going to like be the

18:42 ↗ best option for us um and advocate as

18:46 ↗ hard as we can. Yeah.

18:51 ↗ I didn't come to the meeting in October,

18:53 ↗ but I'm wondering was there any cleation

18:55 ↗ or feedback from any of the bus users on

18:59 ↗ the 554 and the other buses that travel

19:02 ↗ just to see what they thinking in terms

19:05 ↗ of location and places because I'm

19:08 ↗ assuming that those are the maybe some

19:11 ↗ of the people that they're talking to.

19:17 ↗ Yeah. And so um just to clarify the the

19:19 ↗ meeting that um we had in October was

19:22 ↗ about the vision and guiding principles.

19:24 ↗ So just um generally like what we're

19:26 ↗ hoping to get with a station um how it

19:30 ↗ should feel like in terms of like how

19:32 ↗ useful transit is and all that. Um as

19:35 ↗ part of that process we did do a I think

19:38 ↗ it was like a eightmonth um outreach. Uh

19:42 ↗ we did a community survey that was taken

19:45 ↗ by um like 800 respondents. Um went to a

19:49 ↗ lot of meetings. I met with the youth

19:51 ↗ advisory board which was uh in the

19:53 ↗ library here. Um so we we did all these

19:57 ↗ outreach events. Um I myself have a

19:59 ↗ transit user and I I met with um transit

20:03 ↗ writers um as part of this.

20:05 ↗ Um there's a group that represents the

20:09 ↗ east side. Um it's like a east side uh

20:13 ↗ easy writer group. Um I think that's

20:14 ↗ what they called EERC. Um so I met with

20:17 ↗ them. We we like talked about this. They

20:19 ↗ had some folks on the um on some focus

20:22 ↗ groups that we did. Um so uh we we did

20:25 ↗ try to reach out to a lot of transit

20:26 ↗ writers, but um there's so many more

20:29 ↗ voices that we could have gotten. um

20:31 ↗ always open to like uh talking to people

20:33 ↗ about this topic. Um but yeah, moving

20:36 ↗ forward with this project, uh we do have

20:40 ↗ an outreach plan that is very similar.

20:43 ↗ Um and if anybody has connections, would

20:45 ↗ love to chat with uh anybody about this

20:48 ↗ topic.

20:52 ↗ Any other questions or comments for

20:54 ↗ Thomas? Uh quick question because

20:56 ↗ Bradman just finished theirs. So I'm are

20:59 ↗ you partnering like closely with them as

21:01 ↗ well to kind of see like their wins and

21:04 ↗ kind because um I'm a little bit

21:07 ↗ familiar with the folks that kind of did

21:08 ↗ that and so um I know a lot of it was on

21:11 ↗ a time crunch because a lot of the focus

21:14 ↗ was because of the World Cup coming and

21:17 ↗ for the businesses to boom and all of

21:19 ↗ that. So I'm just wondering like what's

21:22 ↗ currently perspective on that like um I

21:25 ↗ love the proactiveness. I'm just curious

21:27 ↗ about like, you know, are is the focus

21:29 ↗ to also expedite in order to um kind of

21:33 ↗ have this big plan and kind of like make

21:36 ↗ it appealing for other folks to come and

21:38 ↗ you know, kind of visit us too. Yeah.

21:40 ↗ Yeah. I um I think the city's stance is

21:43 ↗ that we want it as soon as possible. Um

21:46 ↗ Sunransit has said they can deliver it

21:48 ↗ as early as

21:50 ↗ 2041. That was in 2016. Um, and as we've

21:55 ↗ seen, um, there's been some setbacks for

21:57 ↗ other projects. So, um, we would love it

22:00 ↗ as soon as 2041. Um, but they've also

22:03 ↗ said, um, if financially, uh,

22:07 ↗ constrained, which it looks like, you

22:09 ↗ know, might be the case, um, the latest

22:11 ↗ they would do is 2044. So, I guess to

22:14 ↗ that to that end, uh, we are hoping to

22:16 ↗ get it as soon as possible. Um, but it's

22:19 ↗ likely within that timeline. Um for

22:22 ↗ Redmond, uh we work with the Redmond

22:24 ↗ staff all the time. Uh we're learning,

22:27 ↗ uh about their, you know, perspective on

22:29 ↗ like working on transit. Um through this

22:33 ↗ project and through the development of

22:35 ↗ the um light rail planning guide, we met

22:38 ↗ with many city staff and um also like

22:41 ↗ Snowish County that is working on their

22:43 ↗ um Everett station. Um yeah, we're

22:46 ↗ constantly chatting with people about

22:47 ↗ like sort of how it went and like things

22:49 ↗ we can learn from. Um, so that's that's

22:51 ↗ always part of our development and um

22:54 ↗ yeah, if you have any ins with Redmond

22:56 ↗ um would love to to chat with him. Yeah.

22:59 ↗ Yeah, possibly. Possibly. Cool. Yeah. I

23:01 ↗ was just curious because I'm not sure if

23:03 ↗ you had conversations about the equity

23:05 ↗ concerns that they had with because of

23:07 ↗ like timeline and then like the crunch

23:09 ↗ and then like it becomes an afterthought

23:11 ↗ a lot of times in any big development

23:13 ↗ projects of like oh here are the

23:15 ↗ unintended consequences that we can't

23:17 ↗ really fix anymore. So, I'm just curious

23:19 ↗ like if you you've had those

23:20 ↗ conversations with them just like

23:23 ↗ because I see that you know you're

23:24 ↗ bringing it up like um many you know

23:27 ↗ like really be proactive about it. Yeah.

23:29 ↗ Yeah. I did um I did meet I'll just add

23:32 ↗ to that idea. Um I did meet with Redmond

23:36 ↗ I think it was like six months ago or

23:38 ↗ so. Um they they received a grant uh

23:41 ↗ through like I think it was Bloomberg uh

23:43 ↗ philanthropies. Um they did a whole

23:45 ↗ study on like sort of the the business

23:48 ↗ displacement and the residential

23:50 ↗ displacement displacement concerns uh

23:52 ↗ related to their light rail station. Um

23:55 ↗ and they did a whole like study I think

23:57 ↗ it's maybe on their website um but they

23:59 ↗ really studied uh ways that the city can

24:02 ↗ like try to affect change in those areas

24:05 ↗ and they have a couple like policy um

24:08 ↗ things that they've looked at but it's

24:10 ↗ really great that they did that work. um

24:12 ↗ we can learn from that and try to

24:13 ↗ incorporate that. Um and yeah, I think

24:16 ↗ we're benefiting from being sort of uh

24:19 ↗ the last one served. We can try to

24:21 ↗ incorporate lessons learned, but it is a

24:24 ↗ constantly moving target. So, we want to

24:26 ↗ like keep educated on these issues.

24:28 ↗ Yeah.

24:30 ↗ Thanks.

24:34 ↗ All right. I think Okay. Any any

24:39 ↗ final All right. Thank you, Thomas. Yes.

24:41 ↗ Thank you. I look forward to hearing

24:44 ↗ more from you in the next few months.

24:48 ↗ Yeah. So, I think Jillian, you're going

24:50 ↗ to tee up the the Evans Consulting

24:54 ↗ Group. Yes, absolutely. I'll ask Sarah

24:56 ↗ to join me here at the table. And you

24:58 ↗ all also noticed a couple of folks

24:59 ↗ joining online because they have they

25:01 ↗ have one of their probably last classes

25:04 ↗ um going on right now. Um thanks.

25:11 ↗ Last classes. Yes. Yes. They're near the

25:13 ↗ end.

25:18 ↗ [Music]

25:21 ↗ Yes.

25:22 ↗ Back.

25:24 ↗ Um, it says only organizers and

25:26 ↗ presenters. I'm sure it's not. Okay. Let

25:29 ↗ me make sure really quick and I can if

25:32 ↗ that doesn't work, I can share.

25:39 ↗ Yes, we graduate next week. Exactly one

25:41 ↗ week. So, one day. We're very close. If

25:44 ↗ I seem very out of it, that's why. It's

25:47 ↗ not you, it's me.

25:50 ↗ You should be good to

25:57 ↗ see. Beautiful. Do you want to do a

26:00 ↗ quick sound check of the book fun?

26:05 ↗ Yeah, that'd be great. Okay. Uh Jordan,

26:09 ↗ Jordan, can you say something? Yes. And

26:12 ↗ I am here with Maria and Mory as well.

26:14 ↗ So, we are all on separate video, but

26:16 ↗ we'll be using my audio. So, first

26:18 ↗ checking to make sure you can hear me.

26:22 ↗ It's me. Yep. Wonderful. Carter,

26:29 ↗ hi. Can you hear me? Amazing.

26:34 ↗ Good call.

26:35 ↗ soundtrack as always. Um, yeah. So, this

26:38 ↗ shouldn't be too too much of your time.

26:40 ↗ I think Julian's gonna um introduce a

26:42 ↗ little bit of this followup from what we

26:45 ↗ talked about last time. So, keep that in

26:48 ↗ your brains as we dig into

26:51 ↗ this. Yeah. So, we've returned uh to

26:54 ↗ this group probably for the final time

26:55 ↗ or definitely for the final time with

26:57 ↗ the with the Evans School group on the

26:59 ↗ board and commission um equity

27:01 ↗ assessment. Um you'll probably be

27:03 ↗ hearing from me throughout the summer or

27:04 ↗ fall on some of the implementation of

27:06 ↗ this, but this is um this is the

27:09 ↗ followup and kind of closing the loop

27:10 ↗ from the last meeting, noting what was

27:12 ↗ changed due to your recommendations and

27:14 ↗ feedback and kind of dipping into next

27:16 ↗ steps um and feedback that we'll talk

27:19 ↗ about in a moment. So, we'd love to hear

27:21 ↗ a little bit from all of you on

27:23 ↗ prioritizing the recommendations and

27:25 ↗ what should be standard um for all

27:28 ↗ boards and commissions versus um kind of

27:31 ↗ ad hoc depending on on the border

27:34 ↗ commission. And those are the policy

27:36 ↗ questions there for you. So, as we go

27:38 ↗ through this, just keep in mind um that

27:42 ↗ as the city is thinking about like

27:44 ↗ thinking about the resource constraints

27:45 ↗ that the city might be facing, thinking

27:47 ↗ about staff capacity, what are the most

27:49 ↗ important things for the city to be

27:50 ↗ pursuing um from the list of

27:52 ↗ recommendations. Um and then like I

27:55 ↗ said, uh I'm sorry that that policy

27:58 ↗ question isn't quite right. should be

28:02 ↗ um it should be what you would um sorry

28:06 ↗ I just want to make sure it's the right

28:07 ↗ poweroint.

28:10 ↗ Okay, no worries. Um which which

28:13 ↗ recommendation should be standard for

28:14 ↗ all boards versus um versus selected

28:18 ↗ based on the board?

28:20 ↗ Not a problem. It's all

28:23 ↗ good. There we go.

28:26 ↗ I don't know if it'll update on there,

28:27 ↗ but we'll find out. All right. Well, it

28:30 ↗ won't, but that's okay. I'll update it

28:33 ↗ on the last

28:35 ↗ slide. Can you go to the next slide? Of

28:38 ↗ course.

28:42 ↗ Thanks. Okay. So, I'll hand it back

28:44 ↗ actually to the Evans School to talk

28:45 ↗ through uh their research and then we'll

28:47 ↗ have about half the time to talk through

28:49 ↗ to discuss the policy questions.

28:52 ↗ All right. So um I think most of you

28:55 ↗ have heard our shield before but once

28:58 ↗ again um we did a lot of research and

29:03 ↗ from our kind of core findings

29:05 ↗ specifically from our literature review

29:07 ↗ we found how actively creating inclusive

29:10 ↗ spaces with diverse voices is really

29:13 ↗ crit critical for equitables. So we took

29:16 ↗ that in combination with what we heard

29:18 ↗ in interviews with you all on boards

29:22 ↗ with city staff with folks in other

29:23 ↗ cities and try to focus on three core

29:26 ↗ areas of best practices and

29:28 ↗ recommendations. So we have structure

29:30 ↗ and governance. How does the board

29:33 ↗ literally operate um diversity and

29:37 ↗ representation and inclusion engagement?

29:40 ↗ So what does it look like to be on the

29:41 ↗ board and be part of that

29:43 ↗ experience? Any questions on our areas

29:46 ↗ of focus? I'm going to dive into our

29:51 ↗ recommendations.

29:55 ↗ So, I want to just go over all these at

29:58 ↗ once actually. So, our recommendations,

30:01 ↗ we heard off we went over a lot of them

30:03 ↗ with you all last time. We heard from

30:04 ↗ you kind of around what some priorities

30:06 ↗ are. We did some deep thinking around

30:08 ↗ our deeper thinking I should say around

30:10 ↗ that gap analysis and um how we might

30:13 ↗ prioritize some of these and we really

30:16 ↗ wanted to think

30:17 ↗ about do you have the wrong deck I'm

30:19 ↗ sorry Julian this isn't my fault but

30:21 ↗ that's okay um the diversity and

30:24 ↗ representation is really the big one we

30:25 ↗ want to highlight here so reducing

30:27 ↗ barriers to board participation

30:29 ↗ including streamlined application

30:31 ↗ processes and I know we talked about

30:33 ↗ that with you all um as well as some

30:35 ↗ inclusive outreach reach and messaging.

30:38 ↗ Uh the next area we really thought about

30:40 ↗ was inclusion. So what are some

30:43 ↗ additional onboarding processes that we

30:46 ↗ can think about? Again, we heard from a

30:47 ↗ lot of new folks um this meeting as well

30:50 ↗ as in our other interviews and even from

30:53 ↗ other cities that onboarding could be

30:55 ↗ more

30:56 ↗ consistent, a little bit either more

30:58 ↗ extensive, different options.

31:01 ↗ um just every board does it a little bit

31:03 ↗ differently and that's something we

31:05 ↗ really recommend doing across all

31:08 ↗ boards. Next has standardizing kind of

31:10 ↗ just a baseline equity training. Again,

31:13 ↗ we've seen that all boards receive

31:15 ↗ something a little bit different in this

31:16 ↗ context. And so we just want to make

31:18 ↗ sure everyone has kind of a shared

31:20 ↗ understanding of equity and kind of how

31:22 ↗ it might apply to their board work. Now

31:25 ↗ beyond that standardized training there

31:28 ↗ may be different things that different

31:29 ↗ boards need but again we really focus on

31:31 ↗ what are things that we can do across

31:33 ↗ kind of all boards all groups to really

31:36 ↗ get folks on the same page so we're

31:37 ↗ having able to have more sub substantive

31:40 ↗ conversations um about their own policy

31:43 ↗ areas etc later on. Then lastly this is

31:46 ↗ much less applicable for you all but

31:49 ↗ thinking about some clarity around

31:52 ↗ guidelines for liaison. So folks like

31:55 ↗ Jillian here, what is their role? How

31:57 ↗ can they support members? Be that

32:00 ↗ onboarding after on boarding and then

32:02 ↗ how can they help to facilitate some of

32:04 ↗ that communication between boards and

32:07 ↗ commissions, the mayor, city council,

32:09 ↗ that was something we heard from

32:11 ↗ interviews. Again, we talked about that

32:12 ↗ a little bit last time as well. And what

32:15 ↗ do those feedback loops look like? So

32:17 ↗ trying to cogify some of that a little

32:19 ↗ bit

32:20 ↗ more. Any questions on these? We're

32:22 ↗ going to kind of dive into each of these

32:23 ↗ sections a little bit more. So,

32:28 ↗ beautiful. All right. So, the first one

32:30 ↗ I have is reducing barriers to board

32:33 ↗ participation. And I'm going to let my

32:34 ↗ team jump in here.

32:37 ↗ Great. Thanks, Sarah. Um, everyone can

32:39 ↗ hear me. Okay.

32:44 ↗ Yes.

32:45 ↗ Um, so for each of those prioritized

32:48 ↗ recommendations, we sort of broke it

32:50 ↗ down by what is the best practice that

32:52 ↗ we found through our research and um, we

32:55 ↗ contextualize them for what it looks

32:57 ↗ like in Isiqua right now. Um, for this

33:00 ↗ one, reducing barriers to board

33:01 ↗ participation, we have a couple of best

33:03 ↗ practices to highlight. The first, um,

33:06 ↗ best practice to highlight is just that,

33:09 ↗ um, making the application as easily

33:11 ↗ accessible as possible is is important.

33:14 ↗ Um within Isiqua, we heard that um the

33:17 ↗ application was challenging for some and

33:20 ↗ there was some staff perception that um

33:22 ↗ applicants needed support to complete it

33:24 ↗ online. Um there was also a sense that

33:27 ↗ perhaps people feel their knowledge or

33:29 ↗ experience might be a barrier um keeping

33:33 ↗ them from applying. So an idea for

33:36 ↗ improvement um related to this is just

33:39 ↗ to try and simplify the the application

33:41 ↗ process. Um, this could look like

33:44 ↗ revising for plain language where

33:46 ↗ appropriate. Um, providing alternative

33:49 ↗ formats, um, or or providing some how-to

33:51 ↗ videos on, um, being able to directly

33:54 ↗ access the the the online

33:56 ↗ application. Um, another best practice

33:59 ↗ in related to this recommendation is to

34:02 ↗ offer a stipend. Um, in Isiqua, this is

34:05 ↗ something that exists. So

34:07 ↗ um we found that that isqua is offering

34:10 ↗ a stipen and and to those making less

34:12 ↗ than 100% of the amii um there was some

34:16 ↗ feedback that

34:18 ↗ this availability could perhaps be

34:20 ↗ communicated more clearly. So something

34:23 ↗ to consider. Um and an idea for

34:26 ↗ improvement um that might help make this

34:29 ↗ more um beneficial just for for a

34:31 ↗ diverse group of people is is

34:34 ↗ differentiating the way compensation is

34:36 ↗ offered um by by adding in some some

34:38 ↗ options um beyond just the typical

34:45 ↗ stipend. Great. Thanks my uh as Sarah

34:49 ↗ mentioned one of the other big areas

34:51 ↗ where we saw a best practice was just

34:53 ↗ having standardization around the

34:54 ↗ baseline equity training. So I will dive

34:57 ↗ into this a little bit more in terms of

34:59 ↗ what we saw best practice-wise in other

35:01 ↗ cities and what isqua is currently

35:02 ↗ doing.

35:04 ↗ Uh so it was really based in other

35:07 ↗ cities having a shared understanding of

35:09 ↗ equity principles and an understanding

35:11 ↗ of how the city thinks about and applies

35:13 ↗ those principles in its work at large.

35:16 ↗ This often meant having a shared

35:17 ↗ definition of key terms such as

35:19 ↗ diversity, equity, and inclusion, an

35:22 ↗ understanding of the systems and

35:23 ↗ structures that have created inequities

35:25 ↗ in the US institutions and in the

35:27 ↗ specific communities, and knowledge of

35:30 ↗ the city's current equity work and

35:32 ↗ having access and that shared

35:34 ↗ understanding across boards and

35:35 ↗ commissions. In practice, this often

35:38 ↗ looked like standardized trainings or

35:40 ↗ workshops for all members and having the

35:43 ↗ same information shared to those members

35:46 ↗ and these same kind of consistent

35:48 ↗ resources. In Isiqua, we found with our

35:52 ↗ interviews with board and commission

35:53 ↗ members and staff that equity trainings

35:56 ↗ and resources have been inconsistent

35:58 ↗ with approximately half of those we

36:00 ↗ interviewed sharing they had not

36:01 ↗ undergone any equity training. Members

36:04 ↗ also shared that they perceived that

36:06 ↗ within their boards there may be some

36:08 ↗ dissimilar or inconsistent

36:10 ↗ understandings of what was meant when

36:11 ↗ they talked about equity and a lack of

36:14 ↗ clear definitions around those key

36:16 ↗ terms. When asked about their prior

36:18 ↗ knowledge of equity kind of across

36:20 ↗ various members in the boards, there was

36:23 ↗ a high variability in terms of the level

36:25 ↗ of experience that people came in with

36:27 ↗ prior to joining the B boards. Some

36:29 ↗ share that they had almost no prior

36:31 ↗ experience or kind of deep understanding

36:34 ↗ of equity whereas others share that they

36:36 ↗ had vast experience from lived

36:39 ↗ experience their education and

36:42 ↗ professional training. So kind of

36:43 ↗ inconsistent entry points and then

36:45 ↗ supports once on the boards. Given all

36:49 ↗ of this grounding and one of our big key

36:51 ↗ recommendations is that standardized

36:54 ↗ equity training that all board and

36:56 ↗ commission members participate in which

36:58 ↗ could be integrated into a centralized

37:00 ↗ onboarding process and then sharing

37:03 ↗ those resources and having that training

37:05 ↗ available either online or sent out

37:09 ↗ through emails to board and commission

37:11 ↗ members so that it is easily referenced

37:13 ↗ in the

37:14 ↗ future. With that, I will pass it to

37:17 ↗ Carter.

37:20 ↗ Hi, hello. Um, I'm going to be giving uh

37:23 ↗ talking about our third recommendation

37:24 ↗ that's on our priority list, which is

37:26 ↗ additional onboarding options for new

37:28 ↗ members. We did find that Isocall

37:30 ↗ currently has a centralized onboarding

37:31 ↗ process with similar training uh

37:34 ↗ overview role and time uh to connect

37:36 ↗ with new members. However, we did also

37:38 ↗ find that there's an inconsistency

37:39 ↗ across the support for PE uh for new

37:42 ↗ members to have and other cities do have

37:45 ↗ a support system. And that's why we

37:47 ↗ would like to recommend a few different

37:49 ↗ things which is creating a welcome

37:50 ↗ packet. And this just is providing

37:52 ↗ members with a digital or physical key

37:55 ↗ documents uh facts, contact info, and

37:58 ↗ current benefits. For example, info on

38:00 ↗ the stipen and letter. Uh other things

38:03 ↗ we believe will be extremely beneficial

38:05 ↗ that goes along with this is

38:06 ↗ establishing different onboarding tracks

38:08 ↗ which I believe the equity board does

38:10 ↗ have but having that go across all the

38:12 ↗ other ones as well. Uh and

38:17 ↗ yeah that's number three.

38:21 ↗ Great. Thanks so much Carter. So for the

38:23 ↗ final recommendation that we have, this

38:25 ↗ goes back to the structure and

38:28 ↗ governance um topic uh is to clarify and

38:32 ↗ standardize guidelines for liaison roles

38:35 ↗ as Sarah had noted at the start. So what

38:37 ↗ we heard from other cities as part of

38:39 ↗ our interviews was that um they offer

38:42 ↗ consistent guidance, expectations and

38:45 ↗ standards so that liaison are really

38:48 ↗ best equipped to support their boards

38:50 ↗ and commissions. What we heard from our

38:53 ↗ very limited uh isqua interviews with

38:56 ↗ staff liaison was that there may be some

38:59 ↗ uh variability and flexibility in kind

39:03 ↗ of their expectations and understanding

39:05 ↗ of the board liaison role. So perhaps an

39:07 ↗ opportunity to to f further dig in uh

39:10 ↗ but also to kind of take that word and

39:13 ↗ look at some ways to like embed some new

39:16 ↗ improvements. So similar guidance around

39:18 ↗ kind of that standardization just

39:20 ↗ ensuring that everyone's operating and

39:22 ↗ working off of kind of that same basis.

39:24 ↗ So perhaps designing some sort of

39:26 ↗ guidance document uh for all the liaison

39:29 ↗ within that um kind of having a shared

39:33 ↗ sense of definitions. So for example

39:35 ↗ when it comes to equity and equity

39:37 ↗ practices ensuring that everyone's using

39:39 ↗ the same sort of language uh to be able

39:42 ↗ to kind of speak uh the same and

39:44 ↗ represent Isiqua in the same way. And

39:46 ↗ then the last one I will highlight here

39:48 ↗ is uh perhaps offer orientations or

39:52 ↗ onboarding uh refreshers on an ongoing

39:55 ↗ basis. So perhaps annually uh for staff

39:57 ↗ leaison just ensuring again that you

39:59 ↗ know everyone's up to speed uh we're all

40:02 ↗ refreshed or everyone in the group is

40:04 ↗ refreshed as to like where things are at

40:06 ↗ and operating in in very similar ways.

40:09 ↗ Um, so I think these are probably some

40:11 ↗ of the key ones and you can see there

40:12 ↗ are a few additional areas for

40:14 ↗ improvement that we've also outlined

40:16 ↗ here on the slide. Um, so those are the

40:19 ↗ core recommendations we wanted to share

40:21 ↗ today. Um, and I think that will bring

40:22 ↗ us back to those couple of questions

40:25 ↗ that we had. So Jillian or Sarah back

40:27 ↗ back to you. Let me reshare with the

40:30 ↗ right questions for one really quick

40:32 ↗ again. my

40:34 ↗ brain. It's me, not

40:38 ↗ you.

40:41 ↗ Okay, there we

40:43 ↗ go. So, back to our policy questions.

40:47 ↗ Um, which is, are there any of these

40:49 ↗ that feel like

40:51 ↗ really sticky important? You know, hey,

40:55 ↗ you've made six recommendations, but I

40:57 ↗ think this one should be where you focus

40:58 ↗ your time first. Obviously you want to

41:01 ↗ like want to do all these but where you

41:02 ↗ should focus your time first and then um

41:04 ↗ you know we think we should all these

41:06 ↗ should be standardized across boards but

41:08 ↗ again are there any where you think this

41:10 ↗ definitely needs to be standardized or

41:13 ↗ anything else that we didn't talk about

41:15 ↗ today that has been on your mind that

41:18 ↗ you'd want to see it possible for you to

41:21 ↗ put the six

41:24 ↗ Yeah

41:25 ↗ absolutely let's

41:29 ↗ Here we

41:33 ↗ go. I think personally to me the equity

41:36 ↗ training standardized even if it's a

41:39 ↗ video that they have to watch and then

41:42 ↗ some kind of

41:43 ↗ inperson I think having common language

41:46 ↗ as you're using the word because you

41:48 ↗ still see that people confusing equity

41:50 ↗ and equality and so everyone is coming

41:54 ↗ from the same place.

41:59 ↗ Yeah, I agree. I think that's really

42:00 ↗ important. Um, another one, um, like

42:03 ↗ within the onboarding process, I think

42:04 ↗ the welcome packet with like all the

42:06 ↗ necessary information about the board

42:08 ↗ and like informing people about like the

42:10 ↗ stipens is also really important so that

42:12 ↗ they have like just one place to know

42:13 ↗ about the board and like how to get

42:16 ↗ involved with it. Um, I think that's

42:18 ↗ also Thank you.

42:23 ↗ One thing for me that it I think it's

42:26 ↗ kind of connected to the liaison role as

42:29 ↗ well as the baseline equity training.

42:32 ↗ Um, I think that with equity training, a

42:36 ↗ lot of it focuses on kind of like so

42:38 ↗ definitions, common language, and maybe

42:40 ↗ some self-reflection.

42:42 ↗ And I think that that oftenimes is

42:44 ↗ really hard to translate into like

42:47 ↗ policy specific work. And so while I

42:50 ↗ think a baseline training is great, I

42:53 ↗ think it's not sufficient to actually

42:56 ↗ grapple with transportation policy or

43:00 ↗ housing policy or things like that. So I

43:03 ↗ think there there's there need there

43:05 ↗ could be a baseline like standard

43:07 ↗ baseline and also something that's a

43:10 ↗ little bit more customized for the board

43:12 ↗ and commission. So that's kind of where

43:13 ↗ that variation could be. But I also

43:16 ↗ think the the role of the liaison in

43:18 ↗ terms of equity could be to be more of

43:22 ↗ that expert between equity in that

43:24 ↗ policy area. And so maybe they could

43:27 ↗ help support the board training or you

43:30 ↗ know coach if that's appropriate for le

43:33 ↗ liaison into doing that so they get that

43:36 ↗ intersection of equity and that policy

43:38 ↗ expertise.

43:40 ↗ Absolutely. So yeah it's definitely not

43:42 ↗ and I think we don't envision you know

43:43 ↗ as a as a oneandone right it's obviously

43:45 ↗ an ongoing process for all of us

43:48 ↗ everywhere we are. Um, but it's, you

43:51 ↗ know, where can we, yeah, where can we

43:53 ↗ get get a couple things going and then,

43:55 ↗ yeah, to your point, now that we have a

43:57 ↗ little bit more information, how can we

43:58 ↗ take that to like reflect on ourselves

44:00 ↗ and use that self-nowledge, too? For

44:11 ↗ sure. Any other

44:13 ↗ standardization opportunities or

44:15 ↗ prioritization here?

44:23 ↗ I would have to agree with the

44:24 ↗ onboarding processes having everything

44:26 ↗ be standardized so we all have kind of

44:28 ↗ like a common language.

44:31 ↗ Um I was like maybe we could add like

44:33 ↗ supplementary stuff as far as like

44:36 ↗ um sorry my brain's also a little today.

44:41 ↗ um especially for streamlining the

44:44 ↗ application process and having um

44:48 ↗ maybe trying to think of like different

44:50 ↗ materials as well.

44:52 ↗ Um like people who might have be limited

44:55 ↗ in their site are there accessible

44:57 ↗ options for them to be able to

45:00 ↗ um on board. So yeah, definitely. I

45:05 ↗ think that's that idea like creating

45:07 ↗ like different ways in which people can

45:09 ↗ engage because to your point, you know,

45:10 ↗ not everyone's the same. I can't

45:13 ↗ necessarily just hand someone and I

45:15 ↗ might be able to hand a welcome packet.

45:17 ↗ They're good to go. Some people might

45:19 ↗ have more questions, more needs, you

45:20 ↗ know, it's everyone is a little bit

45:22 ↗ different. Good point.

45:27 ↗ Oh, I'm sorry. I was going to say I'm

45:29 ↗ kind of like still forming the idea in

45:31 ↗ my head and it's kind of based on what

45:33 ↗ you were saying. So I apologize if it's

45:35 ↗ what you said and I'm just repeating a

45:37 ↗ different one. Um but kind of like

45:40 ↗ because the boards are different, right?

45:42 ↗ Like you want to standardize the equity

45:44 ↗ training for example, right? That

45:45 ↗ everyone takes. And then another layer

45:47 ↗ of that is can we have a way where they

45:51 ↗ look at the community that they're

45:53 ↗ serving specifically through the lens of

45:55 ↗ their port, right? because like

45:57 ↗ transportation equity looks different

46:00 ↗ than um sister cities equity and stuff.

46:03 ↗ So like is there a way to kind of like

46:04 ↗ make it a little bit more customizable

46:07 ↗ but also keeping it like you know

46:10 ↗ standard across the board? I don't know

46:12 ↗ half the answer.

46:15 ↗ It's kind of like after what you said I

46:16 ↗ was thinking about that

46:20 ↗ if I were to add on to that just I think

46:22 ↗ for certain policy areas there's

46:24 ↗ probably known inequities that are built

46:27 ↗ in and so to daylight those and what

46:29 ↗ that means for isiqua specifically right

46:32 ↗ so you don't have to reinvent that kind

46:35 ↗ of background every time you talk about

46:37 ↗ something right I mean you guys were

46:39 ↗ just talking about with transportation

46:40 ↗ like other states are doing it there's

46:42 ↗ common equity concerns you know, so I

46:45 ↗ think that is totally possible.

46:48 ↗ I believe is Oh, sorry. Go ahead. Oh,

46:52 ↗ no. Carter, finish finish what you're

46:53 ↗ going to say. I was going to take us on

46:54 ↗ a tangent. I was gonna I was just going

46:56 ↗ to comment. I believe Isiqua does do

46:58 ↗ equity specific transportation uh

47:00 ↗ training as well. And uh I do I do

47:04 ↗ believe that our uh we we do recommend

47:06 ↗ additional to that inside of our bigger

47:08 ↗ document under 2C for the

47:10 ↗ recommendations is to also implement

47:12 ↗ policy specific equity training. That

47:14 ↗ way we can make sure to get a good round

47:16 ↗ of experience and we're not missing

47:18 ↗ anything.

47:20 ↗ Yes, thank you Carter. Yeah, the

47:21 ↗ transportation museum created kind of an

47:24 ↗ a separate training for them and that's

47:26 ↗ one of the things we definitely modeled

47:28 ↗ this recommendation off of.

47:31 ↗ I was just going to reflect on the like

47:34 ↗ the online application and definitely

47:36 ↗ having different ways to apply because I

47:39 ↗ do wonder if our seniors

47:43 ↗ if if we have far fewer seniors who

47:47 ↗ apply to be on boards and commissions

47:48 ↗ because of the online application. So

47:51 ↗ would you think like paper or a phone

47:54 ↗ call or something more more tangible

47:56 ↗ like that? Yeah. or like just you know

47:59 ↗ some people you know typing or writing

48:01 ↗ and some people maybe don't have the

48:02 ↗ dexterity so maybe they can do something

48:05 ↗ over the phone even as that initial

48:07 ↗ application.

48:11 ↗ Yeah. I I would even say um like at the

48:13 ↗ farmers market have a booth there and

48:15 ↗ introduce everyone to the boards and

48:17 ↗ commission. Yeah. Liars around the squad

48:21 ↗ or any city. Oh my god. You just get

48:23 ↗ your beautiful faces out there.

48:25 ↗ [Laughter]

48:31 ↗ I can't speak much on this but I know

48:33 ↗ for like the the guidelines for the

48:36 ↗ license and roles like it definitely

48:38 ↗ varies um like for this board and like

48:40 ↗ the youth advisory board. So I don't

48:42 ↗ know if that would be like standardized

48:43 ↗ like you know like basic equity training

48:45 ↗ for for that role would be like

48:47 ↗ important but I know like maybe that

48:49 ↗ would take time because it's like it's

48:51 ↗ very different for what like a lifestyle

48:52 ↗ do on that board but

48:56 ↗ yeah absolutely

49:02 ↗ all right so what I'm hearing as I kind

49:04 ↗ of think through this and think about

49:06 ↗ what implementation looks like I'm

49:08 ↗ hearing a clear preference to think

49:10 ↗ about kind

49:12 ↗ from last time as well, how people get

49:13 ↗ to our get to uh the city's boards and

49:16 ↗ commissions, right? How they learn about

49:18 ↗ the application, what are the barriers

49:20 ↗ to application through our application

49:22 ↗ process. Um and then also frontloading

49:25 ↗ the the onboarding, right? Like those

49:27 ↗ feel like the highest areas of focus is

49:29 ↗ what I'm hearing from this group.

49:34 ↗ And the training Yeah. Sorry, that the

49:35 ↗ onboarding. Sorry. The training. Yes.

49:38 ↗ Yeah.

49:40 ↗ I don't know if we took a lot off the

49:42 ↗ list.

49:44 ↗ I don't even know if that is off the

49:46 ↗ list, but if it's

49:48 ↗ just thinking through the fact that the

49:50 ↗ next like big cycle will be in a little

49:53 ↗ bit less than a year, I think that gives

49:54 ↗ us a clear path, right, to to spend this

49:56 ↗ next year thinking about those portions

49:59 ↗ of this process and then returning to

50:02 ↗ this document in a year and seeing

50:03 ↗ what's next.

50:06 ↗ I would say I think there's also some

50:07 ↗ small wins like if you can't get all the

50:10 ↗ way like as part of an onboarding

50:11 ↗ packet. I know like you brought you and

50:16 ↗ Dale had brought that glossery that

50:18 ↗ document. So you have stuff that could

50:20 ↗ be part of an onboarding packet ahead of

50:23 ↗ like a structured training to even start

50:26 ↗ moving it to people to common phrases

50:29 ↗ and things. I also think all parts are

50:33 ↗ important because one is how to bring

50:34 ↗ people in, how to get people to

50:37 ↗ participate and then how to keep people

50:40 ↗ in. And it's three different parts to

50:43 ↗ me. And so I I think you need all three

50:46 ↗ so that you're attracting the people,

50:48 ↗ they able to give their voice and then

50:50 ↗ they go to leave because

50:53 ↗ um you know they know how to they have

50:55 ↗ that information to be retained in

51:03 ↗ I would just say just one kind of final

51:06 ↗ thought because I mean for me clearly I

51:08 ↗ prioritize equity. I don't know if

51:10 ↗ members of other boards and commissions

51:13 ↗ prioritize it maybe as much as we would,

51:16 ↗ you know. So I think there's this

51:17 ↗ balance too like how much of

51:21 ↗ like I think there's a danger of equity

51:23 ↗ overtaking other things which again it's

51:26 ↗ fine with me but um what finding the

51:29 ↗ balance

51:33 ↗ right and that might be conversations

51:36 ↗ with the different leaison

51:39 ↗ and that'll probably be sessed out a

51:41 ↗ little bit through the standardization

51:43 ↗ process and just understanding where is

51:45 ↗ the highest need to of for example

51:47 ↗ specific equity trainings um that kind

51:49 ↗ of a thing and that's like what is the

51:51 ↗ minimum they need to know versus like

51:54 ↗ the extras. Yeah.

51:58 ↗ Okay. I think um I have pretty good

52:01 ↗ feedback on mine and I know the Evans

52:03 ↗ school are they're wrapping up. Um, so

52:05 ↗ we can maybe go to the next step slide.

52:07 ↗ Um, I can

52:14 ↗ share this one. I have I might have the

52:16 ↗ wrong one though. Okay.

52:19 ↗ No worries. I can just speak to it. So,

52:21 ↗ um, we're going to be prioritizing these

52:24 ↗ recommendations as well. um to look

52:26 ↗ through maybe more of those like

52:27 ↗ governance or liaison sections and see

52:29 ↗ what should be prioritized

52:32 ↗ um and come up with some kind of

52:33 ↗ implementation plan that might come back

52:35 ↗ to all of you this summer or fall um for

52:38 ↗ your feedback. I also want to note that

52:40 ↗ we're still working on the larger equity

52:42 ↗ assessment work that this is kind of one

52:44 ↗ piece of. Um so the equity team had

52:46 ↗ their first review of the RFP this week.

52:49 ↗ Um and we're going in a slightly

52:51 ↗ different direction to try and get the

52:52 ↗ most for our for our money. So, we'll be

52:55 ↗ rewriting that and hopefully getting you

52:57 ↗ um something to see by either July or

53:00 ↗ August of this year to provide some

53:02 ↗ feedback on uh the deliverables in that

53:05 ↗ in that assessment RFP. So, that's where

53:08 ↗ we're going both with this very specific

53:10 ↗ work um and with the larger project as a

53:12 ↗ whole.

53:18 ↗ Awesome. Well, thank you as always to

53:20 ↗ all of you for your time and effort and

53:24 ↗ contributions. We obviously couldn't

53:25 ↗ have done this without you all. So, um

53:28 ↗ yeah, we really appreciate hopefully,

53:30 ↗ you know, something that city can think

53:32 ↗ about and reference. If not, at least

53:34 ↗ we've had some lovely discussions and

53:36 ↗ kind of get our brains thinking about

53:38 ↗ it. So, either way, appreciate the time

53:41 ↗ and um yeah, thank you. I have to run to

53:44 ↗ work, so I'm gonna leave, but I really

53:46 ↗ appreciate it. Thanks, Sarah. story.

53:49 ↗ Thanks. Thanks everyone. Thank you all.

53:51 ↗ Thank you.

53:53 ↗ Have a good one again from the Evans

53:54 ↗ School. Thank you very much for giving

53:56 ↗ us the opportunity,

53:58 ↗ Jillian. It was great working with you.

54:01 ↗ You all

54:03 ↗ Thank you. Take care. Bye bye.

54:10 ↗ All right, we are just clipping along

54:13 ↗ here. So the the last item on the agenda

54:17 ↗ of significance I would say is the chair

54:19 ↗ and vice chair annual election that

54:22 ↗ happens like the month following

54:25 ↗ uh the beginning or the onboarding I

54:26 ↗ guess of new members. So here we are and

54:30 ↗ um do you want to kick us off? Yeah. So

54:33 ↗ similar to previous years the staff

54:35 ↗ leaison facilitates this just because we

54:37 ↗ have an active chair right. Um so that's

54:40 ↗ why I'll be facilitating this. I'm going

54:42 ↗ to walk through the process um and then

54:44 ↗ we'll kind of get into uh the actual

54:47 ↗ nominating discussion and voting. So, I

54:50 ↗ have a couple of notes here just because

54:51 ↗ I don't want to get any of this wrong.

54:53 ↗ So, starting off with nominations, we'll

54:56 ↗ we'll treat uh chair and vice chair

54:58 ↗ separately and we'll start with

54:59 ↗ nominations for the chair role. Anyone

55:02 ↗ can nominate anyone including

55:03 ↗ themselves. Um unless you are an

55:06 ↗ alternate, you're not eligible to serve

55:08 ↗ um in the chair or vice chair role, but

55:10 ↗ you are eligible to make

55:12 ↗ nominations. Um if there is only one

55:14 ↗ nomination for either of the roles, then

55:18 ↗ uh it's considered unanimous consent

55:20 ↗ that that person uh takes that role. Um

55:24 ↗ if there is more than one nomination uh

55:27 ↗ for any of these roles, then we'll move

55:29 ↗ into a discussion. We'll close

55:30 ↗ nominations and move into a discussion

55:32 ↗ phase. Um, in in boards that I've worked

55:34 ↗ with in the past, it's been helpful to

55:36 ↗ keep this as kind of like a strength

55:38 ↗ strengthbased conversation about what uh

55:40 ↗ any one person might bring to the board

55:42 ↗ in that role. Um, I'll kind of be

55:44 ↗ monitoring to see when discussion dies

55:46 ↗ down and we can move into voting. We'll

55:49 ↗ vote in the order that nominations were

55:51 ↗ made. So, whoever is nominated first

55:53 ↗ will vote on first. You can only vote

55:56 ↗ for one person for each of the roles. So

55:59 ↗ if let's say there are two nominations

56:01 ↗ and you want to actually vote for the

56:02 ↗ second person for tear, you have to vote

56:05 ↗ no on the first person. So it'll be a

56:08 ↗ roll call vote that we'll do. So I'll go

56:10 ↗ ahead and say your name and you'll

56:12 ↗ you'll provide your vote. Um and then

56:14 ↗ it's majority to

56:17 ↗ uh to to be elected. I also know that we

56:20 ↗ have one member who uh at least one

56:23 ↗ member who is not here with us. they are

56:25 ↗ eligible to be nominated and elected and

56:28 ↗ we can kind of go through that um if

56:30 ↗ that happens like what that process

56:32 ↗ looks like a little bit. Are there any

56:34 ↗ questions on how this is going to

56:37 ↗ work? No. Okay, then I think we'll we'll

56:41 ↗ start off with the call for

56:44 ↗ nominations. Kelly and this is for the

56:46 ↗ chair position. Yeah, sorry. This is for

56:48 ↗ the chair position. Thank you. I would

56:50 ↗ like to nominate Lesie. her voice is not

56:54 ↗ um she doesn't speak a lot but when she

56:57 ↗ speaks it closes it kind of makes all of

57:00 ↗ our viewpoints come together and so and

57:03 ↗ she has the longevity on in the

57:05 ↗ organization not just issue

57:09 ↗ thank you Kelly I appreciate that

57:13 ↗ Jill do we need a second for the

57:16 ↗ nominations let me

57:17 ↗ see yeah let's have a second for the

57:20 ↗ nomination

57:21 ↗ I will second

57:24 ↗ it. Are there any other nominations for

57:26 ↗ the position of chair?

57:32 ↗ Okay, seeing none, Leslie,

57:34 ↗ congratulations. Thank you. Thank you.

57:39 ↗ Okay, just let me take a few notes here.

57:42 ↗ We'll move on now to um to the vice

57:46 ↗ chair

57:47 ↗ role. Are there any nominations? I will

57:50 ↗ normally practice even though he's

57:55 ↗ not. Do we have a second for that?

57:59 ↗ A second.

58:01 ↗ Okay. All right. Do we have any other

58:03 ↗ nominations for vice

58:08 ↗ chair? Okay. So, seeing none, Caric has

58:11 ↗ been uh also elected to to the vice

58:13 ↗ chair position.

58:15 ↗ Um, so how this is this will work, we'll

58:18 ↗ let Carthick know. Um, and then if for

58:20 ↗ any reason he wants to to change his

58:22 ↗ mind or or refuse the the nomination on

58:25 ↗ election, we would just repeat the the

58:26 ↗ the voting process at the next meeting.

58:28 ↗ Um, so not a big deal. So

58:31 ↗ congratulations.

58:33 ↗ Thank you. It's a pleasure. Thank you.

58:36 ↗ We're not sitting in the right spot.

58:39 ↗ This chair closest to the door.

58:42 ↗ Although you may want to move over here,

58:44 ↗ Dale will always have me stationed here

58:46 ↗ for the mic. You know what? Then so

58:48 ↗ shall it be, Madam Chair.

58:51 ↗ Going forward.

58:53 ↗ All right. Well, um I don't know if

58:56 ↗ there's other business, Jillian, that

58:58 ↗ you wanted to mention. No, I'll just

59:00 ↗ note that something I forgot to note.

59:02 ↗ The chair position is the chair and vice

59:04 ↗ chair roles are one year. So, you'll

59:05 ↗ both serve um until May of 2026.

59:09 ↗ So, and before we end the meeting, I'd

59:11 ↗ like to thank PRY for being a policy

59:14 ↗ chair this past year. We appreciate your

59:17 ↗ leadership and the way you challenged us

59:20 ↗ to think um more about the different

59:24 ↗ topics presented.

59:26 ↗ Absolutely. you're

59:30 ↗ here have official it's I'm going to

59:33 ↗ consider it under other business but um

59:36 ↗ rather than having a closing thought I

59:38 ↗ wanted to uh offer it up to Leslie for

59:41 ↗ any uh comments as incoming chair. Uh

59:45 ↗ well, thank you very much again for for

59:47 ↗ your your leadership and thank you all

59:49 ↗ for entrusting me uh after uh I guess

59:53 ↗ about a year of being on the equity

59:55 ↗ board in a role of a chair. Um I

59:58 ↗ certainly take uh this as a u a

1:00:02 ↗ responsibility that I want to kind of

1:00:03 ↗ honor and and make sure that I am being

1:00:06 ↗ a great facilitator

1:00:08 ↗ um and have the ability to learn from

1:00:10 ↗ everyone here. Uh what I love about this

1:00:12 ↗ board and this group is that we look

1:00:14 ↗ like a supply. Um and that makes me feel

1:00:17 ↗ really good. And so for me, I want to

1:00:20 ↗ make sure that um we're continuing on

1:00:22 ↗ with the the very great undertaking of

1:00:25 ↗ continuing the the mission that we have,

1:00:27 ↗ which is obviously to continue to

1:00:30 ↗ support and cultivate the voices of the

1:00:33 ↗ diverse communities of Isiqua, which we

1:00:35 ↗ represent, and we're honored to kind of

1:00:37 ↗ uh continue that work going forward. In

1:00:40 ↗ terms of goals, I was thinking about uh

1:00:42 ↗ what do I want to do for my my my next

1:00:44 ↗ year and if I was um kind of honored and

1:00:47 ↗ uh being chair in terms of uh kind of

1:00:49 ↗ goals for the next year and it's really

1:00:52 ↗ continuing to support the hardworking

1:00:55 ↗ city staff leaison that do all of the

1:00:57 ↗ yman's work and um present us

1:01:00 ↗ information to where we can make great

1:01:02 ↗ decisions and uh support the city. Um, I

1:01:06 ↗ certainly want to continue to work

1:01:08 ↗ affording the equity work plan in 2025.

1:01:11 ↗ Um, I think it's great work there and

1:01:13 ↗ I'm I'm pretty excited about some uh

1:01:14 ↗ great initiatives that are coming up for

1:01:16 ↗ the summer. Um, I think it's important

1:01:19 ↗ for us to increase the visibility of the

1:01:21 ↗ equity board to really, you know, make

1:01:23 ↗ sure that people know about what we do

1:01:25 ↗ and the great work that that is and um,

1:01:28 ↗ you know, educate more about, you know,

1:01:30 ↗ who we are and uh, kind of grow from

1:01:32 ↗ there. And I think it's important uh for

1:01:35 ↗ what I do as a profession and just

1:01:37 ↗ within this group for us to continue to

1:01:39 ↗ recruit and to develop um within as far

1:01:42 ↗ as um equity board members and already

1:01:45 ↗ on the board and also those that would

1:01:47 ↗ like to join this group eventually. So I

1:01:50 ↗ think it's very important to replace

1:01:52 ↗ ourselves with uh highly talented and

1:01:54 ↗ motivated people. So I'm honored and I

1:01:57 ↗ look forward to working with all of you

1:01:58 ↗ guys in this capacity. So thank you.

1:02:01 ↗ Thank you.

1:02:05 ↗ I will say that Carpik is online. So I

1:02:08 ↗ don't know uh if you'd like to share the

1:02:10 ↗ news uh

1:02:15 ↗ hey can you hear us?

1:02:18 ↗ Hi yes I can. Can you hear me? Yes, you

1:02:22 ↗ were nominated as vice chair and it was

1:02:25 ↗ unanimous. So congratulations vice vice

1:02:28 ↗ Oh wow.

1:02:30 ↗ [Laughter]

1:02:33 ↗ All right. Well, thank you. Thank you so

1:02:35 ↗ much. Delighted to hear it. Yeah. And

1:02:38 ↗ Caric, would you have any a few words

1:02:40 ↗ you might share as you as we wrap up the

1:02:42 ↗ meeting?

1:02:45 ↗ Yeah. Yeah, sure. Um, sorry, I'm I'm I'm

1:02:47 ↗ still in the airport. A bit of

1:02:49 ↗ background here. Uh, hopefully it's not

1:02:50 ↗ too distracting. No, you're fine. Um,

1:02:53 ↗ okay. Thanks. Yeah. Uh, yeah, a couple

1:02:57 ↗ of things I think. Um, yeah, I'd love

1:02:59 ↗ to, yeah, just following on from what

1:03:01 ↗ was shared, I'd love to be able to uh

1:03:05 ↗ bring in

1:03:07 ↗ some practices within our group itself

1:03:10 ↗ that can foster equity uh around our

1:03:13 ↗ communications, around uh our sort of

1:03:16 ↗ stories that we bring, the different

1:03:18 ↗ life experiences that we bring into the

1:03:20 ↗ space and and use that as a way to guide

1:03:23 ↗ us in how we interact with the different

1:03:26 ↗ departments of the

1:03:28 ↗ Uh the second is around

1:03:31 ↗ uh data and uh how we gather data, how

1:03:35 ↗ we uh communicate that data and and that

1:03:39 ↗ includes not just sort of quantitative

1:03:41 ↗ data but also qualitative. Uh I think in

1:03:44 ↗ the last year and a half or so on the

1:03:47 ↗ board we've seen so many examples of how

1:03:51 ↗ uh just understanding what the

1:03:53 ↗ inequities are in in our community uh

1:03:56 ↗ requires you know looking at some sort

1:03:59 ↗ of data and and there's not that much

1:04:01 ↗ data out there. uh so trying to figure

1:04:03 ↗ out or at least suggest uh ways

1:04:07 ↗ to gather and collect and distill that

1:04:12 ↗ data uh to the to the city is something

1:04:14 ↗ I'd love to work together with the board

1:04:17 ↗ on.

1:04:19 ↗ Um yeah, I think those are those are two

1:04:21 ↗ that are front of mind. Thank you.

1:04:24 ↗ Thanks, Car. Thank you.

1:04:27 ↗ Well, um, as we adjourn, I just want to

1:04:30 ↗ say I have been honored to be the chair

1:04:32 ↗ for the past two years and I'm delighted

1:04:34 ↗ with the new leadership and chair and

1:04:36 ↗ vice chair. And so I'm excited to uh sit

1:04:40 ↗ back and just participate as a board

1:04:43 ↗ member. Um, and so with that, I would

1:04:45 ↗ adjourn this uh June meeting and our

1:04:49 ↗ next meeting is scheduled for July 2nd

1:04:53 ↗ under Leslie Fleet.

1:04:55 ↗ Thank you all.

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