Human Services Commission · Wednesday, April 16, 2025 · City Council Digest

1. SITE VISIT

6:35 - 7:00 PM - The Garage, A Teen Cafe: 235 1st Ave SE Issaquah, WA

packet pp.98027

2. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS

Public Comment

packet pp.3

Open packet at p.3 ↗

Staff report:

Just a piece of positive I wanted to share- attached. Thank you for this opportunity! �� THIS is why we do what we do! This was just too sweet not to share. Thank you for making this possible!

Approval of Minutes

packet pp.5–6

Open packet at p.5 ↗

Staff report:

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS b) 03-19-25 Human Services Commission Minutes CITY OF ISSAQUAH Human Services Commission 6:30 PM Steelhead Room, 235 1st Ave. March 19, 2025 MINUTES SE, Issaquah

Input on 2025 Issaquah Culture Fest Welcoming Week Event (D)

25 min · Hannah Roberts, Senior Human Services Coordinator · packet pp.7–16

Topics: Arts & Culture

Open packet at p.7 ↗

Staff report:

To receive community input from the Human Services Commission on the 2025 Issaquah Culture Fest – Welcoming Week Event

Reports

15 min · packet pp.17–18

Open packet at p.17 ↗

Staff report:

• Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month: In partnership with the City of Issaquah, The Circle will host an event to celebrate AAPI on Saturday May 10, 5-7 PM at the Issaquah Community Center. There will be performances, activities for families and more.

1308 segments .txt ↗

0:04 ↗ Good to

0:08 ↗ go. Right. Go ahead. Go ahead. Hello.

0:11 ↗ I'm Manuel Brown, um, vice chair of the

0:14 ↗ Human Service Commission, and we'll call

0:16 ↗ the meeting to order. is uh

0:20 ↗ 7:09 and uh on March

0:24 ↗ April I'm sorry April 16th April 16

0:30 ↗ it's okay so

0:32 ↗ um regular uh any uh public comments um

0:37 ↗ yes we actually did have a written

0:38 ↗ public comment um I have printed it here

0:40 ↗ for folks here you can see it online on

0:42 ↗ the agenda packet

0:44 ↗ um but before I start the open public

0:48 ↗ comment. I just want to say we did um

0:50 ↗ start the meeting at 6:35 with a site

0:54 ↗ visit and now we've come back on the

0:56 ↗ hybrid option and we are starting with

0:58 ↗ our agenda item number two with regular

1:01 ↗ agenda items and then I'm going to jump

1:03 ↗ us into our public comment. So, nobody's

1:06 ↗ in person here, but we did have a

1:07 ↗ written one um from one of our newly

1:10 ↗ funded executive directors at Pride

1:13 ↗ Across the Bridge. Um, he sent an email

1:15 ↗ asking if we could share with our

1:16 ↗ commission. So, I'm just going to read

1:17 ↗ it out loud. He says, uh, or they say,

1:21 ↗ "Hello, just a piece of positive. I

1:24 ↗ wanted to share attached. Thank you for

1:26 ↗ this opportunity. This is why we do what

1:28 ↗ we do. This was just too sweet not to

1:30 ↗ share. Thank you for making this

1:32 ↗ possible." Also, the big book is

1:34 ↗ officially translated in Spanish as of

1:36 ↗ the beginning of this week. Thrilled to

1:37 ↗ share this resource further in our

1:39 ↗ community. Um, this is uh one of our

1:41 ↗ programs that we fund for Pride across

1:43 ↗ the bridge. Um the note here that's

1:45 ↗ included says um this is from a donation

1:48 ↗ they received uh from an individual

1:51 ↗ saying thank you Axton. I am a

1:53 ↗ transgender youth in the valley. I

1:55 ↗ recently uh received one of your big

1:58 ↗ book of all things queer. I love the

2:00 ↗ book very much and it has been a great

2:02 ↗ use to me and my family. So I wanted to

2:04 ↗ thank you for all of your hard work and

2:06 ↗ give you a donation uh to at least cover

2:10 ↗ the cost of shipping for the book. This

2:12 ↗ community is so nice um to but uh

2:17 ↗ LGBTQIA plus people still have

2:19 ↗ challenges at it is so nice to know that

2:22 ↗ there are people out there for us and

2:25 ↗ them and it's cross out the individual's

2:27 ↗ name but where is this organization

2:30 ↗ located? Um so they uh I think they have

2:34 ↗ a site in Redmond but they also um use

2:37 ↗ Capitol Hill um one of their senior

2:39 ↗ centers I believe. Um and so but the

2:44 ↗ um they're very small. They like uh the

2:47 ↗ executive director I don't even think

2:48 ↗ isn't technically a paid position. So

2:50 ↗ it's a very grassroots organization.

2:55 ↗ Okay. Thank you. That's all public

2:57 ↗ comment. Thank you. U since no more

3:00 ↗ comments um we'll go through approval of

3:03 ↗ uh last minutes of March 19th. who was

3:07 ↗ um everyone had a chance to take a look

3:10 ↗ at that. I get a I propose that we

3:15 ↗ approve the minutes from the March

3:16 ↗ meeting. I second.

3:19 ↗ Approved and second and

3:23 ↗ then uh do we have a unanimous consent?

3:26 ↗ Yeah. Oh, there's time. Yes, we do.

3:30 ↗ That's it. There we go. Hi, M. Right.

3:33 ↗ All

3:34 ↗ right. So um let's move on to the uh

3:39 ↗ input on the 2025 is a qual culture fest

3:42 ↗ welcoming week and that will be to this

3:46 ↗ yes and I just want to welcome hi May

3:49 ↗ thank you so much for joining us online

3:52 ↗ hey thank you so much for the

3:53 ↗ accommodation thank you for the support

3:55 ↗ and thank you uh Manny for jumping in uh

3:58 ↗ so I I deeply appreciate it

4:02 ↗ yes

4:04 ↗ it looks like both Puma and um Aricia

4:07 ↗ were on

4:09 ↗ earlier. Oh yeah, they must have

4:12 ↗ thought. Anyways, thank you. I'll I'll

4:16 ↗ reach out to them. Yeah.

4:19 ↗ Um

4:22 ↗ okay, let me share my screen

4:26 ↗ here. All right. So, um agenda item for

4:30 ↗ this evening is I am seeking community

4:33 ↗ members. So our commissioner input for

4:36 ↗ our 2025 is cultural fest which is a

4:39 ↗ part of our welcome week event. Um and

4:43 ↗ um this presentation I'll provide a

4:45 ↗ little bit of background so we

4:46 ↗ understand and orientate ourselves of

4:47 ↗ what is welcoming week. Um I also want

4:50 ↗ to talk a little bit of what we have

4:51 ↗ done in the past and then I have some

4:54 ↗ specific questions that I want some

4:56 ↗ input on. Um these are the questions

4:59 ↗ I'll ask at the end just to help you be

5:01 ↗ prepared as we go through the

5:03 ↗ presentation. I'm hoping to seek input

5:05 ↗ on if you've attended to these events in

5:08 ↗ previous years, what feedback do you

5:10 ↗ have to help improve the event? And if

5:12 ↗ you have not attended, uh what would you

5:15 ↗ like to see at this event? Um other

5:17 ↗ other specific questions for 2025 is if

5:20 ↗ there's any culture groups that you'd

5:21 ↗ like to see featured and um interaction.

5:24 ↗ I think that's I'll go more details of

5:26 ↗ what we're asking there, but what type

5:27 ↗ of interaction from our performances

5:29 ↗ would be ideal in this kind of um an

5:32 ↗ event. So, a little background. Um,

5:34 ↗ welcoming week. So, first off, just

5:36 ↗ asking commissioners here and online.

5:39 ↗ Um, has anybody know what what welcoming

5:42 ↗ week is? Has anybody heard of it outside

5:44 ↗ of Isaqua events?

5:47 ↗ Outside of Isiqua? Yeah, outside of

5:48 ↗ Isiqua or understand the background?

5:51 ↗ It's okay if you haven't. What do you

5:52 ↗ mean outside of isqua? I mean, I've I've

5:54 ↗ attended it many years, but what do you

5:56 ↗ mean by outside of Isakqua? Great segue

5:58 ↗ into some background. So, it's it's

6:00 ↗ actually I don't know, maybe you didn't

6:01 ↗ know this, but it's a global um event.

6:03 ↗ So it is um it is an event that is

6:06 ↗ celebrated worldwide. I did not know.

6:08 ↗ You mean welcoming week? Welcoming week.

6:10 ↗ Yes. Oh, I didn't know that. So

6:12 ↗ welcoming week started in 2012 and it uh

6:16 ↗ it it starts uh across all over the

6:18 ↗ world. So kind of in this uh transparent

6:20 ↗ map I included in here. Um these are all

6:22 ↗ locations all over the world. So this is

6:24 ↗ the US. Um Australia has a bunch. Over

6:28 ↗ in Europe you'll see that there are

6:29 ↗ celebrations. Um and it it was supposed

6:33 ↗ to be where it's a week long. So

6:35 ↗ everybody celebrates it in that week and

6:37 ↗ really the the campaign of this uh

6:40 ↗ welcoming week is for really communities

6:42 ↗ to celebrate and uplift their diversity

6:46 ↗ and values of welcoming and inclusion

6:48 ↗ for all including immigrants. So this is

6:51 ↗ intended for all um however there is a

6:56 ↗ focus on immigrants. So um non-native

7:00 ↗ individuals who are new to the area

7:02 ↗ whether that's here in Islqua anywhere

7:05 ↗ in the US that's celebrating in

7:06 ↗ Australia all over the world. Um so this

7:10 ↗ is uh again a global um a global event

7:14 ↗ where it provides individuals and

7:17 ↗ organizations the opportunity to

7:19 ↗ showcase their values through events and

7:21 ↗ initiatives that foster connections and

7:23 ↗ collaboration between immigrants and

7:26 ↗ non-immigrants as well belonging for

7:28 ↗ all. So I love that statement because I

7:30 ↗ think it's this one is helpful to help

7:33 ↗ us understand the event that we are

7:36 ↗ trying to portray is in um is in

7:40 ↗ partnership what is happening globally

7:42 ↗ for welcoming week that is intended to

7:45 ↗ foster an environment that brings in

7:48 ↗ non-immigrants and immigrants. So that's

7:51 ↗ our end goal that the event is intended

7:54 ↗ to be a celebration. It's intended to be

7:56 ↗ people who are uh from the native area

7:59 ↗ and who are not from the area and bring

8:02 ↗ them together so they can commune and

8:04 ↗ celebrate the new diversity coming into

8:07 ↗ the

8:08 ↗ community. So Isiqua started welcoming

8:11 ↗ week event. It first started with a

8:14 ↗ joint east side mayor's uh proclamation

8:16 ↗ with the um different east side mayors

8:19 ↗ um that proclaimed uh welcoming week

8:21 ↗ will be celebrated um in uh in this

8:25 ↗ region and that started in 2017 and

8:27 ↗ continues to move forward every year.

8:30 ↗ And in 2019 is when really we really

8:32 ↗ started as a city doing events for it to

8:34 ↗ try to um celebrate welcoming week. And

8:38 ↗ so in 2019 is the first we first started

8:41 ↗ this uh program as ISO welcomes you

8:44 ↗ event um and it was a small I wasn't

8:47 ↗ around here but it was a smaller um

8:51 ↗ event um that was in person and then in

8:54 ↗ 2020 it was intended to move forward

8:56 ↗ however we had co um and so we couldn't

8:59 ↗ do anything in person that year so we

9:01 ↗ moved it into an online panel um and

9:04 ↗ this was hosted by our Isiqua History

9:06 ↗ Museum um and was featuring different

9:09 ↗ Isiqua residents and did interviews. Um

9:12 ↗ we had a very famous um individual on

9:14 ↗ that panel. Uh we were very excited

9:16 ↗ about this individual. Manny

9:18 ↗ Brown five years ago was on our panel

9:21 ↗ for that event. I attended that. You

9:24 ↗ attended that? Oh, that's amazing. And

9:26 ↗ your wife, you said. Um and then also we

9:28 ↗ all know Alicia Spinner um from the

9:30 ↗ circle. That was before the circle even

9:32 ↗ started, but she was also on that panel.

9:34 ↗ Okay. Um, so that was a big uh kind of

9:37 ↗ an adjustment with COVID of moving it

9:39 ↗ online and having a educational um type

9:42 ↗ of an event. In 2021, this was kind of a

9:45 ↗ sad year because um we were supposed to

9:48 ↗ do it um outside. We were during that

9:51 ↗ time if you remember in 2021 where it

9:53 ↗ was a 5t apart, right Beth? Something

9:56 ↗ something like that where we had to be

9:58 ↗ six feet. Thank you. We had to be apart

10:00 ↗ um and or and or outdoors. Um, and so we

10:04 ↗ had planned this event as an outdoor

10:06 ↗ event. Uh, but it was raining that day.

10:10 ↗ Oh. Very hard. So, we couldn't move it

10:12 ↗ inside because of those restrictions.

10:14 ↗ So, we had to cancel it completely. Oh,

10:16 ↗ shoot. Very sad. Um, and then in 2022,

10:20 ↗ we continued um with the isqua welcomes

10:22 ↗ you event in person. It was outside with

10:24 ↗ the stage. It then I would say kind of

10:27 ↗ kept growing kind of this snowball

10:29 ↗ event. for 2023 we had and then and then

10:32 ↗ in 2024 is when we transitioned some of

10:36 ↗ our marketing for culture into a we're

10:39 ↗ calling it um we felt like is welcomes

10:41 ↗ you

10:43 ↗ uh just didn't quite um embody like that

10:47 ↗ this was an event just seemed like you

10:48 ↗ can say isqua welcomes you anytime and

10:51 ↗ so it transitioned into a um new

10:54 ↗ marketing um intention with the it's

10:56 ↗ calling uh culture fest isqua welcomes

10:59 ↗ do. Um, so it's intended to show that

11:02 ↗ we're a fest to celebrate cultures and

11:05 ↗ to bring and welcome people

11:08 ↗ in. So last year's event, um, I'll focus

11:12 ↗ on that a little bit because that's what

11:14 ↗ I'm hoping we can grow off of. Um, so

11:16 ↗ here's some of our, um, this is our

11:19 ↗ flyer and A-frame boards that we had. We

11:22 ↗ um we highlighted it as a free and

11:24 ↗ family-friendly event to celebrate

11:25 ↗ cultural diversity in our community in

11:27 ↗ Isiqua. Um we had music. We had um

11:32 ↗ different world dances. We had

11:34 ↗ interactive arts. Um we had henna art

11:37 ↗ which is which is always popular. Um and

11:39 ↗ then the big thing we also had in the

11:41 ↗ middle is our resource booth. So a lot

11:43 ↗ of um a lot of our nonprofits um as this

11:46 ↗ is human services event. But we also

11:49 ↗ invited different groups of, you know,

11:51 ↗ if I was new to Isaquin and wanted to

11:53 ↗ get find ways to connect with my

11:55 ↗ community, what would I want to know

11:57 ↗ about? So, we had things like the zoo or

11:59 ↗ um the salmon hatchery. Um different

12:01 ↗ boards and commissions were there. So,

12:04 ↗ um we're just going to keep building off

12:05 ↗ of that. And it was really intended to

12:08 ↗ invite our neighbors, family, and

12:09 ↗ friends to join us. So, you can see some

12:12 ↗ of the shift. It went from this

12:13 ↗ educational event to let's let's

12:15 ↗ celebrate, let's honor, let's bring the

12:17 ↗ community

12:19 ↗ together. Um I just love we got some

12:22 ↗ really cool pictures from the event from

12:24 ↗ last year. So just including um that you

12:26 ↗ could see um over here on our lawn um

12:30 ↗ our different resource booths and um

12:33 ↗ people enjoying the stage where we had

12:35 ↗ different cultures represented. Um

12:38 ↗ really had that fun dragon dance in the

12:40 ↗ beginning. Um that was wonderful as

12:42 ↗ well. And then this is also our banner.

12:44 ↗ So it's part again as a part of our

12:47 ↗ um our way of um promoting the

12:54 ↗ event. So for 2025, one thing that we

12:57 ↗ want to do is focus on um as we're

13:01 ↗ starting this is it's in a September

13:03 ↗ event and we are starting to plan here

13:05 ↗ in April because it takes that long to

13:07 ↗ get things to figure it out for this

13:09 ↗ capacity or this level of a an event. Um

13:13 ↗ and so uh what we really want to do this

13:16 ↗ year is go to our community members and

13:18 ↗ get some feedback of what would you like

13:22 ↗ to see? Right? We're we're here, city

13:24 ↗ staff. We're working with our different

13:26 ↗ um partners from different cultural

13:28 ↗ backgrounds to help guide us, but we

13:30 ↗ also feel like we want more community

13:32 ↗ input and feedback to help guide this

13:35 ↗ year's event. Um so for this year, we

13:38 ↗ have it. It's the 12th through the 21st.

13:40 ↗ Due to uh restrictions on um accessing

13:44 ↗ the community center, we have to do it

13:46 ↗ on the 5th. Um, so you'll notice it's

13:48 ↗ not on the week of welcoming week, but

13:51 ↗ that's okay because other cities are

13:53 ↗ celebrating it that week. So they'll

13:55 ↗ celebrate it that week. We can invite

13:57 ↗ people from our community earlier on.

14:00 ↗ Each year there's a different theme. Um,

14:02 ↗ so this year's theme it's the spirit of

14:04 ↗ generosity and that is um designated by

14:07 ↗ the welcoming week website global

14:10 ↗ people. We do not that is their theme

14:14 ↗ that we follow.

14:15 ↗ Um and then what we have so far um is we

14:20 ↗ have the date, the time, the location

14:23 ↗ and we have general ideas of what we

14:25 ↗ have done in the past for festivities um

14:27 ↗ that we will get some feedback from you

14:30 ↗ from our community to help guide us. So

14:31 ↗ performances on stage, our resource

14:34 ↗ fair, we had different food trucks and

14:36 ↗ food options and then just different

14:37 ↗ interactive um um activities. So for

14:40 ↗ example, we have had in the past we had

14:42 ↗ a bouncy house. Um, we had face paint,

14:45 ↗ we had a balloon artist, we had henna,

14:48 ↗ we had um two different um specific

14:52 ↗ cultural type of art that the community

14:56 ↗ was invited to do. Um, we had the zoo

15:00 ↗ had a few little animals. Um, we had uh

15:03 ↗ different displays with like uh cultural

15:06 ↗ dresses and

15:07 ↗ attire. And so um I also added here who

15:11 ↗ currently is a part of our planning. Um

15:14 ↗ so we partner with um for culture

15:16 ↗ they're a huge funer for us for this

15:17 ↗ program. Um and then as part of part

15:20 ↗ part of our planners we have um dia

15:23 ↗ downtown isqua association staff. We

15:26 ↗ have uh friends of the isqua library isa

15:29 ↗ highlands council and then our king

15:31 ↗ county library system. So we have a

15:32 ↗ large and then internal staff as well.

15:35 ↗ Um, so we have a large crew of us

15:37 ↗ planning this

15:40 ↗ event. So, what kind of input have you

15:43 ↗ received from people that attended in

15:45 ↗ the past? Um, great question.

15:49 ↗ Um, I just need a little bit of water

15:52 ↗ here. So, we have received input on um,

15:57 ↗ date. So, we have people say they don't

16:00 ↗ want it on Friday. We have people say

16:01 ↗ they do want it on Friday. So, that

16:03 ↗ one's always a hard one. Um, we've had

16:06 ↗ different culture groups come up to us.

16:10 ↗ Um, every every year we have somebody

16:12 ↗ come up to us asking if they can just

16:14 ↗ like, hey, we want to perform. We want

16:16 ↗ to be a part of this. Um, and so we we

16:20 ↗ want to this year um most years we try,

16:23 ↗ but it can be challenging. We want to

16:24 ↗ focus on local talent. Um, so ideally

16:27 ↗ it's any groups from Isiqua as you can

16:29 ↗ imagine that that can be challenging and

16:32 ↗ limiting. So we have expanded some of

16:34 ↗ our horizon but we're going to kind of

16:36 ↗ try to focus on that again this year if

16:38 ↗ we can. Um, other feedback is

16:44 ↗ um I would have to go look back on my

16:47 ↗ notes. Um, but um, there was a few

16:50 ↗ complaints about like the noise um, the

16:53 ↗ sound system. One year it was too quiet,

16:55 ↗ last year it was too loud. Um, you know,

16:58 ↗ all good, like good to know. Like we

16:59 ↗ we're trying our best and anything we

17:01 ↗ can do to improve it, we're happy about.

17:03 ↗ Um, a lot of people didn't know about

17:06 ↗ it. Um, I think is what we found out

17:08 ↗ about. So, right, it's it's word of

17:11 ↗ mouth is the most powerful

17:12 ↗ advertisement. So, it's just we we hope

17:15 ↗ this to be a snowball type of event.

17:17 ↗ were just we we hope if any of you

17:20 ↗ attended or know concerts on the green

17:22 ↗ those are a huge uh well attended well

17:25 ↗ known and that took you know they're

17:27 ↗ they're within 20 years of doing that

17:30 ↗ and so I think that's the hope with this

17:31 ↗ is that it could be that big eventually

17:34 ↗ but you know that will take time

17:37 ↗ um yeah so we've received some of those

17:40 ↗ and then

17:42 ↗ um yeah some years there were like

17:45 ↗ missing cultural

17:47 ↗ Um, so one year we didn't have like we

17:49 ↗ usually have had a mariachi band or um

17:52 ↗ something that um expresses Latino

17:55 ↗ population and um one year we didn't

17:58 ↗ because the event was really close to

18:00 ↗ Hispanic Heritage Month and so so they

18:03 ↗ just couldn't they're not enough

18:04 ↗ bandwidth.

18:06 ↗ Okay. Yeah. And so, um, so yeah, so I

18:11 ↗ think this year we're really trying to

18:12 ↗ find local and groups that really, um,

18:17 ↗ reflect the clock. Um, and so

18:21 ↗ um, one group that hasn't been um,

18:25 ↗ portrayed on stage that I think we we're

18:28 ↗ hoping to find the performances of

18:29 ↗ Russian and Ukrainian. That's a really

18:31 ↗ growing community here. Um, which one?

18:34 ↗ Russian and Ukrainian. And then um the

18:37 ↗ speaker that came last month from the

18:40 ↗ circle I remember Alicia. Alicia. Yeah.

18:44 ↗ I was so surprised when she mentioned

18:46 ↗ the is it the Turkish community?

18:49 ↗ Yeah. Um talking about the Arabic. Oh,

18:52 ↗ Turkish. I think you're right. She was

18:54 ↗ talking about the languages. The

18:55 ↗ languages. I was like I had no that was

18:57 ↗ just a that took me by surprise. Yeah,

18:59 ↗ definitely. Um

19:02 ↗ so so are you asking for our feedback

19:04 ↗ now? Yes. So, we are now in discussion

19:06 ↗ mode. So, I'd love to hear some of your

19:10 ↗ um thoughts.

19:12 ↗ Um I thought that uh Okay. Was it last

19:16 ↗ year when we had that female um MC? Oh,

19:21 ↗ yes. The we I thought it was really good

19:24 ↗ to have a real strong MC. And I couldn't

19:27 ↗ remember if that was one of the first

19:28 ↗ years that that happened. Yep. Um and it

19:31 ↗ was last year, right? It was last year

19:33 ↗ and we we had hired her where she uh was

19:38 ↗ that's what she did. She was a

19:40 ↗ professional um and I thought that was

19:42 ↗ nice and I thought she did a good job.

19:46 ↗ Um and in terms of which culture

19:50 ↗ groups well I think you kind of answered

19:53 ↗ the question. I mean any and all in um

19:57 ↗ that can be I mean it's only a 2hour

19:59 ↗ window. That's the thing I was just

20:00 ↗ looking at. So, I'm sure that stage

20:03 ↗ management gets to be Yeah. kind of a

20:06 ↗ thing in terms of how many groups you

20:08 ↗ can accommodate, right? Yeah, it's very

20:11 ↗ true. Yeah, cuz two hours isn't very

20:12 ↗ long. No, it's not. And we've had

20:14 ↗ previous years 3 hours, but we felt like

20:16 ↗ that was too long. Oh, interesting. Mhm.

20:19 ↗ Um because people don't normally say

20:21 ↗ that long. So, yeah. And when you say

20:26 ↗ interactive activities, is that like an

20:28 ↗ art project that kids can help with

20:31 ↗ type? Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

20:35 ↗ Yeah. Oh, I when you said performances,

20:38 ↗ how interactive would you like the

20:39 ↗ performances? I thought Okay. I thought

20:41 ↗ you meant the you don't mean the people

20:43 ↗ that are on stage or or dancing around.

20:45 ↗ Okay. Sorry. Um, so there two

20:48 ↗ interactive kind of questions we have.

20:50 ↗ The first one is how interactive would

20:52 ↗ you like the performances? So on stage

20:55 ↗ we have had um different like for

20:58 ↗ example we've had like um belly dancers

21:01 ↗ and they would invite people to the

21:03 ↗ stage and teach them right and or get

21:06 ↗ try to get the kids up and do one of

21:08 ↗ their specific type of like dancing and

21:11 ↗ stuff. So, I think we're just trying,

21:12 ↗ we've always felt like, okay, we're

21:14 ↗ trying to gauge like is this, is this

21:16 ↗ the type of event that we go out into

21:18 ↗ the have our performers go out in the

21:20 ↗ audience and try to get them involved or

21:23 ↗ is this like more of a environment where

21:25 ↗ people just want to sit back and enjoy?

21:28 ↗ I would just say it's up to the cultural

21:30 ↗ group that's doing it, what they want to

21:32 ↗ do that. I mean, I I would agree if it's

21:35 ↗ a if it's a belly dancing group that's

21:37 ↗ kind I guess I wouldn't want to expect

21:39 ↗ performances to provide an interactive

21:43 ↗ um opportunity, but if it's a group that

21:45 ↗ is that's their their stickick. Yeah.

21:48 ↗ Yeah, that's great. Okay. You know, I

21:51 ↗ mean like if it was a group that had a

21:54 ↗ stair group and that's what they do is

21:56 ↗ teach dance. Yeah. You know, then yeah,

21:58 ↗ interactive would be Yeah. appropriate.

22:01 ↗ Yeah. Very good point. But, you know,

22:02 ↗ most of the people that come probably

22:04 ↗ are not going to be getting up and

22:06 ↗ dancing with the performers. Yeah.

22:08 ↗ Right. Right. Exactly. Um, I do think

22:11 ↗ having that dragon run around in the

22:13 ↗ middle is helpful. Yeah. That was how we

22:16 ↗ started it off. Was anybody there for

22:18 ↗ that kickoff? Did you feel like that was

22:20 ↗ like a kind of a Yeah. Good start. Yeah.

22:25 ↗ Are you taking notes on your phone? I

22:27 ↗ am. I didn't have a pen and I don't have

22:28 ↗ my computer, so sorry. Thank you. I

22:31 ↗ would say real quick, uh, Commissioner,

22:33 ↗ um, Luca has her hand up. Thank you,

22:36 ↗ honey. No, no worries. I forget

22:38 ↗ sometimes, too, so I figured. Thank you.

22:41 ↗ Thank you.

22:42 ↗ Hello, Commissioner Lucasia. Good to see

22:45 ↗ you this evening.

22:48 ↗ Thank you. Yeah. So I I guess I want to

22:50 ↗ jump in to say that sometimes groups

22:53 ↗ don't know what what is allowed or not

22:57 ↗ allowed or and so I would say that I

23:01 ↗ would actually give them parameters like

23:06 ↗ like you just explained Hannah like you

23:08 ↗ you're not expected

23:10 ↗ to to provide instruction but if that is

23:14 ↗ something that you're willing to do and

23:16 ↗ comfortable doing it would be nice to

23:19 ↗ have audience

23:20 ↗ participation as opposed to just

23:23 ↗ assuming that they would

23:25 ↗ know to offer that or to or to not offer

23:28 ↗ it. Yeah, that's great. Right. So like

23:31 ↗ if we if we were if we do want that

23:34 ↗ level of interaction like personally I

23:36 ↗ love it when that happens especially

23:39 ↗ because when I have attended these

23:41 ↗ events it's the children who get

23:43 ↗ involved right because they're less

23:45 ↗ inhibited they have less you know you

23:48 ↗ know they're they're they're not trained

23:50 ↗ yet to be embarrassed about moving their

23:53 ↗ bodies or whatever and I just think

23:57 ↗ that that it's good to to have that um

24:01 ↗ be part of the shows. I've never felt

24:04 ↗ like the that the instruction that they

24:07 ↗ provide is inappropriate or or

24:10 ↗ unwelcome. Like I think it's actually

24:12 ↗ like a really I at least from my

24:14 ↗ perspective it has always been a very

24:16 ↗ positive interaction.

24:19 ↗ Perfect. And so I guess I would just

24:21 ↗ present it as if you know if you would

24:24 ↗ like to have audience

24:26 ↗ participation, we fully support that.

24:29 ↗ And if that's not your stick or that's

24:31 ↗ not what you normally do, then we're

24:33 ↗ okay with that as well. Great. Good

24:37 ↗ point. Like I think they had some sword

24:39 ↗ work there. I don't know if I'd give a

24:40 ↗ kid a sword.

24:45 ↗ Yeah. Or or any fire dancing or anything

24:47 ↗ like that, right? Yeah. Exactly. Hannah,

24:51 ↗ I want to circle back to something else

24:53 ↗ you said about um the way people find

24:56 ↗ out about this is primarily through word

24:58 ↗ of mouth. That surprises me. Yeah. I

25:01 ↗ mean, we put up we put things on the

25:02 ↗ insider. We put things on social media.

25:05 ↗ Um, one thing we would maybe actually

25:07 ↗ this is a question to you all here this

25:09 ↗ evening is we thought about creating

25:11 ↗ like little um like note card flyers and

25:15 ↗ kind of going like doortodoor or having

25:18 ↗ neighborhood representatives like pass

25:20 ↗ it on to their neighbors or put it in

25:22 ↗ mailboxes or doors stops. So me, do you

25:25 ↗ think that that is a for this community

25:28 ↗ a

25:30 ↗ a productive and good use of time and

25:33 ↗ resources to help this spread this word

25:35 ↗ of mouth or do you feel like that's just

25:36 ↗ more

25:38 ↗ What about like posting like at your

25:40 ↗ local Starbucks on their bulletin board?

25:42 ↗ Yes, that's a great idea. Yeah. Um I

25:46 ↗ would probably um encourage that more

25:50 ↗ than people get too many flyers in their

25:52 ↗ mailboxes, right? Okay.

25:55 ↗ Yeah. Okay.

25:59 ↗ Yeah. We'll go to business. Um, yeah, I

26:02 ↗ I run a a community page called Squawk

26:05 ↗ Mountain Families because I live on

26:06 ↗ Squawk Mountain and I always advertise

26:10 ↗ city stuff on there and people are

26:12 ↗ always super grateful to to learn. I

26:14 ↗ don't know why most people don't know to

26:17 ↗ go to the the city page, although it's

26:21 ↗ so

26:22 ↗ um robust that I I I know that I get

26:26 ↗ lost in that page sometimes, so I can

26:27 ↗ imagine other people do as well. So I

26:30 ↗ can definitely do that. Um and then the

26:35 ↗ other the other thought is, you know,

26:38 ↗ where do people where do where does

26:40 ↗ everyone go? I feel like most people go

26:42 ↗ to the grocery store. So maybe asking

26:45 ↗ like Safeway and Fred Meyers if if we

26:50 ↗ could put something at the registers.

26:54 ↗ I don't know if that's allowed because I

26:56 ↗ mean Starbucks like I can tell you that

26:58 ↗ the last time I was at a Starbucks was

27:01 ↗ 15 years ago. I don't even know like

27:03 ↗ that's not that's not some place that I

27:05 ↗ frequent at all. like and it was

27:07 ↗ probably cuz I was at an airport and

27:09 ↗ that was the only coffee that was

27:10 ↗ available like I'm more about shopping

27:13 ↗ local. Does that make you know coffee?

27:17 ↗ Yeah. Yeah. Where everybody goes would

27:19 ↗ probably be like a grocery store or like

27:21 ↗ Costco or something.

27:24 ↗ Joe's Joe's is great. Okay. Good options

27:27 ↗ people. Thank

27:29 ↗ y'all. Good ideas. You got something for

27:32 ↗ me? Okay. Well, this is like random, but

27:35 ↗ well, I've been to this event both as a

27:38 ↗ volunteer and a participant in 2022 and

27:41 ↗ 2023. And I think one thing that would

27:44 ↗ be able to increase both participation

27:46 ↗ as well as representation is including

27:49 ↗ different um high school organizations

27:52 ↗ and clubs. I know in Skyline we have a

27:54 ↗ black student union and I think we have

27:56 ↗ equivalents for um Latino students and

27:59 ↗ we have our Indian culture club. And I

28:02 ↗ think adding and I assume there's

28:04 ↗ definitely

28:05 ↗ ones and liberty. So I think it would be

28:08 ↗ a great idea to include them because not

28:10 ↗ only does this work as like um

28:13 ↗ management, but you can also introduce

28:15 ↗ them as like having um a stand. I know

28:19 ↗ as a high school student myself, we all

28:21 ↗ love our service hours and volunteer

28:23 ↗ hours. And the ability to go here and

28:26 ↗ put up a stand to do some sort of

28:28 ↗ activity, whatever they want to do, or

28:30 ↗ raise advocacy would increase

28:32 ↗ participation from students as well as

28:35 ↗ work as marketing so that they can

28:36 ↗ spread it to members and love such

28:40 ↗ around the school. Great suggestion.

28:44 ↗ Would that also include performers? Like

28:47 ↗ are you saying that there are also

28:49 ↗ groups that could perform or

28:53 ↗ I'm not specifically a part of any of

28:55 ↗ these claws, but I do know there's

28:57 ↗ definitely like at least with um I do

29:00 ↗ know there's specific like student

29:02 ↗ groups. I think we've had student groups

29:04 ↗ that have participate. I don't know if

29:05 ↗ we've had any that have participated,

29:07 ↗ but I do know that there are definitely

29:09 ↗ around is a call like student dancing or

29:12 ↗ performing groups that would definitely

29:14 ↗ probably be willing to participate in

29:17 ↗ this if they were given notice about it.

29:20 ↗ Yeah, that would be part of my ask.

29:21 ↗ Definitely.

29:23 ↗ Great idea. Yeah, I would love to get

29:25 ↗ some youth involvement. So, that's a

29:27 ↗ really good idea. Thank you.

29:32 ↗ What about um are there are the cultural

29:34 ↗ are the cultural groups affiliated with

29:38 ↗ um local churches at all or not so much?

29:42 ↗ Uh at least for the welcoming week

29:44 ↗ events that we've had. No. No. Okay.

29:48 ↗ I'm guessing the circle will be highly

29:50 ↗ involved right?

29:52 ↗ Um they have been involved in uh

29:55 ↗ planning this event in previous years.

29:57 ↗ the last couple years they have had to

29:59 ↗ step out due to their capacity and they

30:01 ↗ do many other events like AAPI and

30:04 ↗ Hispanic Heritage Month. So they will

30:06 ↗ most likely have a resource there but

30:08 ↗ because they're doing Hispanic Heritage

30:10 ↗ Month that fall in a following week

30:13 ↗ after that they're usually focused on

30:15 ↗ that. So they're actually not as

30:17 ↗ involved as they have been previously.

30:24 ↗ Did I hear right um Hannah that they

30:27 ↗ will be in attendance though with a

30:29 ↗ booth? Did I understand? They will be

30:31 ↗ invited. I haven't confirmed but yes

30:33 ↗ they all of our nonprofits are invited

30:35 ↗ uh to be part of the resource fair. Um

30:37 ↗ and normally they have uh participated

30:39 ↗ in that which has been great. Um so at

30:42 ↗ minimum I'm hoping for that but yeah um

30:45 ↗ they would also be a great resource

30:47 ↗ especially they I know they have um

30:50 ↗ different cultural representation there

30:52 ↗ in different circles. So it would be a

30:54 ↗ great in uh opportunity to talk to them

30:57 ↗ about potential perform local performers

30:59 ↗ that they know about. So so we

31:01 ↗ definitely have that relationship that

31:02 ↗ where we can ask them if they have those

31:04 ↗ resources, right? Particularly since I

31:07 ↗ mean as Alicia um yeah as Felicia shared

31:10 ↗ with us like you said they have all

31:13 ↗ these different cultures that they work

31:15 ↗ with. So yeah, it's not just Hispanic

31:18 ↗ that they would be able to recommend.

31:20 ↗ Exactly. Yeah. This might be a silly

31:22 ↗ thing, but in the past I don't remember

31:25 ↗ that many food trucks. Yeah, that's a

31:28 ↗ good question actually. So, um, we've

31:30 ↗ had two to three food trucks and then

31:32 ↗ like one one to two dessert type of food

31:36 ↗ trucks or popups. And that I guess um

31:41 ↗ what we found is that when we are

31:44 ↗ booking we're not paying these uh food

31:48 ↗ trucks to come and so we we're trying to

31:50 ↗ find the balance of we want the right

31:52 ↗ number to give people options but we

31:54 ↗ don't want to take away business from

31:56 ↗ the food truck that is here for a

31:58 ↗ two-hour event. Right. It has to be a

32:00 ↗ successful event for them. Them. Yeah.

32:03 ↗ Exactly. And so um Oh, I see. Yeah. And

32:06 ↗ then I will say the one year we had like

32:08 ↗ three food truck. Maybe it was No, it

32:10 ↗ was two. One of them broke down. Oh,

32:13 ↗ they had So we have all the food trucks

32:14 ↗ lined out right here on this street and

32:16 ↗ they would broke down in that parking

32:18 ↗ lot over there. So they were able to get

32:20 ↗ some business. But yeah, and then we

32:23 ↗ usually have the ice cream truck, which

32:24 ↗ is always a big success. And we also do

32:26 ↗ um we give a lot of we pay for some

32:29 ↗ tickets to get um uh provide free ice

32:32 ↗ cream to all of our performers. Um, so

32:34 ↗ that's a nice kind of benefit and

32:36 ↗ they're great partners. Um, not

32:38 ↗ necessarily cultural uh option, but a

32:42 ↗ local option. Um, and then we've got

32:44 ↗ usually like a bakery different. So, but

32:48 ↗ yeah, I mean any thoughts on number of

32:50 ↗ food trucks or

32:53 ↗ It's a tough one because the whole food

32:54 ↗ truck thing has to be based on the

32:56 ↗ number of people that you think are

32:57 ↗ going to attend and the number of people

32:59 ↗ that attend on a Friday in September is

33:02 ↗ weather dependent to some degree. I'd be

33:05 ↗ more curious just seeing a

33:08 ↗ um an interesting mix of if you're only

33:11 ↗ gonna have two or three food trucks like

33:13 ↗ maybe not a burger truck but maybe

33:15 ↗ something that is a little bit more

33:18 ↗ unusual and I don't know how many food

33:19 ↗ trucks are locally owned.

33:22 ↗ Yeah. Not not many not five hooks I

33:25 ↗ think is I know that one or something

33:28 ↗ like that. Yeah. There seems to be one

33:29 ↗ over by the chamber that's I think Oh

33:32 ↗ yeah. Uh the taco one. uh laws. There's

33:34 ↗ two over there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

33:38 ↗ So, well, we have it. We're We've got a

33:40 ↗ few options. Um

33:44 ↗ Okay. Well, this is helpful feedback to

33:47 ↗ start off with. We are also actually

33:49 ↗ taking this to the arts commission. Um

33:51 ↗ there are also big funders for this

33:53 ↗ event. Um and so, uh we're going to get

33:56 ↗ some feedback from them. And one item

33:58 ↗ we're going to specifically ask them,

33:59 ↗ it's an idea for an art commission that

34:02 ↗ is an interactive

34:04 ↗ um

34:05 ↗ communitydriven mural of some sort. Oh

34:08 ↗ wow. And so I had the idea and this is

34:11 ↗ just kind of maybe the start of

34:12 ↗ something that I hope that the art

34:14 ↗ commission can help kind of either

34:16 ↗ commission or elaborate for us is like

34:19 ↗ um to kind of show the diversity and

34:21 ↗ show kind of our our inclusiveness is do

34:24 ↗ like um where we do handprints, right?

34:27 ↗ You do your hand print and you draw it

34:29 ↗ that represents you and where you're

34:31 ↗ from and and we create some sort of big

34:34 ↗ hand mural with it that shows isquat and

34:37 ↗ what we're built up as. So a an active

34:40 ↗ event during the during that can build

34:42 ↗ an art piece. Oh wow. Wouldn't that be

34:44 ↗ so neat? So that's what something like a

34:46 ↗ that we'd love to see. Yeah. So, at

34:49 ↗ Salmon on I think it was Salmon on

34:51 ↗ Sunset, it might have been Salmon Days

34:53 ↗ at the hatchery last year, they had this

34:55 ↗ garage door that's on the back side of

34:57 ↗ one of the buildings and they got all

35:00 ↗ this paint and they let kids paint fish

35:03 ↗ on the door and it was a colossal mess,

35:08 ↗ but it turned out really cool. you know,

35:10 ↗ all these different fish all over the

35:12 ↗ And it was done the day of and it was

35:15 ↗ completely, you know, if you if if

35:17 ↗ you're a kid and you want to participate

35:19 ↗ in this, come on up. Yeah. Yeah. And

35:21 ↗ that's kind of the same idea of Yeah.

35:24 ↗ All are welcome. Let's create something

35:26 ↗ that represents Yeah. Super fun. Yeah.

35:30 ↗ There's an event at the um hatchery this

35:33 ↗ Saturday. Uh Earth Day. Yeah. Yeah. Are

35:36 ↗ you going to be volunteering? I will.

35:38 ↗ We're going to be helping with the

35:39 ↗ scavenger hunt.

35:43 ↗ Any other items, commissioners, on

35:45 ↗ feedback on welcoming week? More

35:47 ↗ information to come as this is built

35:49 ↗ building and as we get more planning

35:52 ↗ going.

35:55 ↗ Well, I think in the past, this

35:56 ↗ commissioner, I think in the past we had

35:58 ↗ some of

35:59 ↗ the the nonprofit folks kind of

36:01 ↗ tableabling a little bit. I think that

36:03 ↗ was kind of good to connect. The one

36:04 ↗ that I attended where they had a you

36:06 ↗ know different types of music uh food

36:09 ↗ and um it was a good way to kind of

36:11 ↗ connect folks around what services do we

36:13 ↗ have resources do we have I think people

36:15 ↗ were tableabling I think that's always

36:17 ↗ you know good to see um when I saw the

36:20 ↗ lawn and people doing that um I thought

36:23 ↗ it was a beneficial for folks to know um

36:26 ↗ you know where some of the services are

36:28 ↗ offered by Isiqua or throughout our

36:29 ↗ community. So, I thought it was a really

36:31 ↗ good exchange

36:33 ↗ happening. Good, good, good. Appreciate

36:35 ↗ that feedback. Like the idea of a, you

36:37 ↗ know, community art project and I'd love

36:39 ↗ to see the garage itself get involved in

36:42 ↗ that with me. Oh, I love that. Yeah. See

36:45 ↗ what his garage

36:48 ↗ be in charge or be involved at least.

36:51 ↗ Yeah,

36:52 ↗ absolutely. Like maybe because since

36:55 ↗ this event takes place like directly

36:57 ↗ across the street from them, maybe

36:59 ↗ having like an open house so that people

37:02 ↗ could see what it's about. And I don't

37:05 ↗ know like I know that I I I wish I could

37:08 ↗ have um attended tonight in person. I've

37:11 ↗ always been curious, but I've always

37:13 ↗ been also respectful that that's like a

37:16 ↗ teen space. So I've tried not that's

37:19 ↗ exactly why I have not gone there. But

37:21 ↗ if they had like an open house, I think

37:23 ↗ it would be interesting for adults and

37:26 ↗ other people to like be familiar with

37:29 ↗ the work that they do there. Yeah.

37:32 ↗ Kaylee did say as we were leaving that

37:35 ↗ we're welcome to drop by. She said 2:30

37:38 ↗ would be I think 3:30. 3:30. 3:30. Yeah.

37:41 ↗ But she she said we could drop by. It

37:43 ↗ kind of sounded like we were welcome to

37:45 ↗ do that as commissioners. Yeah. Because

37:48 ↗ there were no kids there today. No

37:50 ↗ students there. Yeah, it was a spring

37:51 ↗ break. Spring break. So, you know, if we

37:53 ↗ wanted to come and just see what it's

37:54 ↗ like during a normal day.

37:57 ↗ Oh, interesting. Okay. I don't know

37:59 ↗ where I got the idea that it was really

38:01 ↗ Oh, no. You're right. You're not You're

38:03 ↗ not supposed to. I mean, yeah. Yeah. No.

38:07 ↗ Yeah. In fact, the drop the drop in

38:10 ↗ would basically been be in and out, you

38:12 ↗ know? It's just see what they do and

38:14 ↗ then get out of the way. Yeah. know

38:16 ↗ Kaylee. I mean, I've known Kaylee for a

38:19 ↗ long time and No, I Yeah, you're not

38:21 ↗ supposed to go there as an adult unless

38:23 ↗ you're invited. Yeah, I can be one of

38:26 ↗ those um bats that they put like the

38:28 ↗ cameras on. I can bring a GoPro in.

38:33 ↗ We got an insider.

38:35 ↗ Here's here's another idea. And we may

38:37 ↗ be going too far into the weeds here,

38:41 ↗ but wouldn't it I would welcome like if

38:44 ↗ I was new to the neighborhood, I would

38:46 ↗ welcome tours of the of the um community

38:50 ↗ center.

38:52 ↗ Oh yeah.

38:57 ↗ Yeah. Right. Like because I mean I've

39:01 ↗ lived here for six years and I'm still

39:03 ↗ confused as to how to use that community

39:04 ↗ center. Yeah. No, I think that's a great

39:07 ↗ idea. Great idea. I don't know if I'm

39:09 ↗ alone in that or whatever, but I just

39:11 ↗ know that I don't know that I fully

39:12 ↗ understand how to how to even use it.

39:16 ↗ That's a great suggestion.

39:20 ↗ And in the past, Hannah, has the history

39:23 ↗ the Isiqua history people, have they

39:25 ↗ been at the event?

39:27 ↗ Um they did host that virtual event and

39:32 ↗ uh they have but um they had some

39:35 ↗ staffing changes so since then we have

39:37 ↗ not had them but I will certainly invite

39:39 ↗ them this year as well.

39:41 ↗ Yeah. And what about the Isiqua Trails

39:44 ↗ Club? Uh they have been I think they

39:46 ↗ have come actually the last couple times

39:48 ↗ and been invited.

39:50 ↗ Okay. But they don't attend or they do

39:53 ↗ they do. I think I remember seeing them

39:56 ↗ with a booth. Yes. Quad trails and then

39:58 ↗ museum.

40:00 ↗ Oh, I know what I wanted to mention in

40:02 ↗ terms of

40:03 ↗ advertising, you know, with that big old

40:06 ↗ beautiful banner. Don't you put it up on

40:09 ↗ on Front Street? So, we have a one Front

40:11 ↗ Street I think over by the that side.

40:16 ↗ Yep.

40:18 ↗ The front side. Yeah. Yeah. And then we

40:21 ↗ we have another one that goes right on

40:24 ↗ our community center railing. Okay.

40:27 ↗ Yeah. Because there's on Front Street

40:30 ↗ when they have banners, there's two

40:31 ↗ spots. Yeah. One on south of town kind

40:35 ↗ of and then one by Dairy Gold. Yes. By

40:39 ↗ the last one. Yeah. We were right by

40:40 ↗ Dairy Gold. So that's where the one will

40:42 ↗ go. Okay.

40:44 ↗ And and also I'd like to see something

40:46 ↗ like combine it with uh bring a can of

40:50 ↗ food. Oh.

40:53 ↗ Oh, that's a good idea. Right here by

40:56 ↗ Yeah. Yeah. I would have to talk to them

40:59 ↗ about like organizing that and and what

41:01 ↗ that putting it over by the walkway to

41:05 ↗ the troll, you know. And then there

41:06 ↗ could be volunteers that are organized

41:08 ↗ that carry it back to the food bank.

41:10 ↗ Yep. Yeah. Great. Great. That's a great

41:13 ↗ great idea.

41:16 ↗ Well, this probably won't be the last

41:18 ↗ time I come to you all with some

41:19 ↗ suggestions or some ideas. So, if you

41:21 ↗ don't mind, I will as this kind of keeps

41:24 ↗ uh event keeps cooking and building, we

41:27 ↗ meet with other commissions and we keep

41:29 ↗ build working with our planning team.

41:31 ↗ I'll probably bring this for an update

41:33 ↗ and then see if you all can provide some

41:35 ↗ helpful feedback as we kind of sharpen

41:37 ↗ up this event. Thank you all. Appreciate

41:39 ↗ your your time there.

41:42 ↗ Thank you, Hannah. Um, our next thing on

41:45 ↗ the uh agenda is a chair and commission

41:48 ↗ report. Um, that would be Hi,

41:51 ↗ May. And, uh, anything else? Anyone

41:55 ↗ else? You have anything?

41:58 ↗ Um, I would say, let's see here. I'm

42:01 ↗ looking at the agenda here.

42:03 ↗ Um, we I would say in the last few

42:06 ↗ weeks, I want to thank Hannah and

42:07 ↗ Commissioner Manor. We've been kind of

42:10 ↗ working and around the interviews and

42:11 ↗ and the panel and the and trying to be

42:14 ↗ very deliberate and thoughtful around

42:16 ↗ who' be the next for our commissioners.

42:18 ↗ Uh there's probably more information to

42:20 ↗ come forward around that. Um

42:22 ↗ announcements. Are we doing those

42:23 ↗ announcements today, Hannah, or is that

42:24 ↗ something we're still kind of

42:27 ↗ um No announcements officially on my end

42:29 ↗ today? Uh we are um the recommendations

42:34 ↗ went to our mayor and then to our city

42:35 ↗ council.

42:37 ↗ I it might have just went to city

42:39 ↗ council or it's going to shortly and

42:41 ↗ then new terms will commence in May. Um

42:45 ↗ so that'll be the start of our new

42:47 ↗ commission. That that was my report just

42:49 ↗ the fact that a lot of work went in

42:51 ↗ behind that and very

42:53 ↗ intentionality. Um and so I thank

42:55 ↗ everybody that put their name in the

42:56 ↗ hat. Um so there'll be more information

42:59 ↗ to come as Hannah kind of alluded to. Um

43:03 ↗ that's all I got for on my end.

43:07 ↗ Thank you.

43:11 ↗ Um, go ahead. Um, I just wanted to say,

43:14 ↗ okay, people should be aware of the

43:16 ↗ Earth celebration that's at the hatchery

43:18 ↗ on Saturday. I've been to that before.

43:20 ↗ It's a lot of fun. And then Isaakiqua

43:22 ↗ Sustainability Fair, which is um the

43:25 ↗ following Saturday on April 26.

43:29 ↗ The sustainability fair. Is that at

43:30 ↗ Pickering Barn? Pickering Barn. Yeah.

43:34 ↗ Thank you,

43:35 ↗ Commissioner. And um youth support

43:41 ↗ um just a few things since we're kind of

43:44 ↗ wrapping up of the school year is

43:45 ↗ starting to come to an end. Two main

43:48 ↗ events that we're doing. We're only have

43:49 ↗ one more event before we're all as a

43:51 ↗ board or as the whole you board are

43:53 ↗ going to go all hands on deck for the

43:55 ↗ Isaqua Kids Triathlon, which is probably

43:58 ↗ definitely our biggest event. We are

44:00 ↗ planning to have a

44:02 ↗ um do some sort of flyer or some sort of

44:05 ↗ stand at the sustainability fair and

44:08 ↗ we're going to try to have as many of

44:10 ↗ our board members help volunteer as

44:12 ↗ well. And then obviously um the kids

44:15 ↗ Izzy kids triathlon that's going to be

44:17 ↗ Sunday June 1st from 800 a.m. to 400

44:20 ↗ p.m. This is our biggest event of the

44:23 ↗ year. We invite all kids, I believe it's

44:26 ↗ like

44:27 ↗ uh 10 to 10 to 14, 8 to 14 around that

44:33 ↗ age to do this mini triathlon. We have a

44:36 ↗ run, we have a um our swimming section

44:39 ↗ is at the swimming pool right over here.

44:42 ↗ And then we have our running section and

44:44 ↗ our biking section are just all around

44:46 ↗ kind of the community center and the

44:48 ↗ trails near it. So it goes kind of by it

44:51 ↗ goes through if you know that trail

44:53 ↗ right to the right of the community

44:54 ↗ center that kind of leads you a little

44:56 ↗ farther than is um is high school then

45:01 ↗ you kind of go there and then you go

45:03 ↗ back and then there's kind of like that

45:04 ↗ hill that brings you right back to the

45:06 ↗ community center and that's the whole

45:07 ↗ bike trail and then the run trail is

45:09 ↗ just like three times around the

45:10 ↗ community center or some or so. And yeah

45:14 ↗ we have this is a very high density

45:17 ↗ group. we can usually have upwards of

45:19 ↗ like 100 to 150 kids participating in

45:21 ↗ this event and yeah so we're just all

45:24 ↗ going to try to do it. Last year we were

45:27 ↗ unable to because the uh we had the help

45:31 ↗ of the park is aqua parks committee and

45:33 ↗ they were planning the um fourth of July

45:36 ↗ celebration. But this year, we're

45:37 ↗ definitely taking a bigger hand and

45:39 ↗ trying to get everyone, sorry, everyone

45:41 ↗ on the board connected so that we don't

45:43 ↗ need to rely as much on the um parks

45:46 ↗ commissioners and the or the parks like

45:49 ↗ staff members so that we can we can all

45:51 ↗ work as volunteers so that we still have

45:53 ↗ a fun and interesting event that runs

45:56 ↗ nice and smoothly for everybody.

45:59 ↗ So yeah, I think that's it for me today.

46:02 ↗ Thank you.

46:05 ↗ Oh, sorry. Go ahead. What is it for the

46:08 ↗ event?

46:10 ↗ Um, I believe it's 8 to 14 cuz it's 8 to

46:15 ↗ 10, 10 to 12, 12 to 14 are our age

46:18 ↗ divisions. There isn't like a winning

46:20 ↗ prize. Everyone, it just finishes and we

46:22 ↗ usually give them a t-shirt at the end,

46:24 ↗ but they do have different like

46:26 ↗ distances they have to run based on age

46:29 ↗ or distances

46:30 ↗ to do.

46:34 ↗ And I will note um Preston was featured

46:37 ↗ in one of our emails for our park from

46:39 ↗ our parks team. So here's our youth

46:42 ↗ advisory board here. Great

46:44 ↗ representation. And we have Preston. If

46:47 ↗ you can't find him, I'll point him out

46:48 ↗ right here.

46:51 ↗ Okay. Where is he? Right there. Right in

46:54 ↗ the front. He's right there. So he was

46:56 ↗ featured in our um advertisement for the

47:00 ↗ for folks to Oh, hi. So I was so excited

47:02 ↗ to see him there. I just wanted to give

47:04 ↗ you a shout out and say thank you for

47:06 ↗ all the work you've done here on our

47:07 ↗ commission and uh we've it's been a

47:10 ↗ pleasure to have you in your um report.

47:12 ↗ So, thank you. And won't it be great

47:14 ↗ when you can get your own you can drive

47:16 ↗ yourself to places, right? Oh my gosh. I

47:20 ↗ can drive myself here. So, you're hoping

47:23 ↗ to take not to have too much of a segue,

47:24 ↗ but you're hoping to do your driving

47:26 ↗ lesson in a week or two. Yes. Okay. Good

47:30 ↗ luck.

47:31 ↗ Yeah. All right, that was our youth

47:34 ↗ report. Um, staff report. Yeah, I'll

47:36 ↗ wrap us up fairly quickly. A couple

47:38 ↗ items I want to throw out here. I also

47:40 ↗ haven't shared the screen just so

47:41 ↗ sometimes the visual is helpful. Um, big

47:44 ↗ one is AAPI Heritage Month. Um, the

47:47 ↗ circle is hosting this again at our

47:49 ↗ community center. Very excited for that.

47:52 ↗ Um, so it's going to be on uh May 10th

47:55 ↗ if it's helpful to uh Mother's Day

47:57 ↗ weekend, that Saturday. Um, from 5 to 7.

48:01 ↗ Uh there's going to be different

48:02 ↗ performances,

48:04 ↗ uh different activities and arts and

48:05 ↗ crafts that they typically have had in

48:07 ↗ the past. Um please consider coming,

48:10 ↗ inviting your neighbors, bring your

48:11 ↗ family and friends. Um great opportunity

48:14 ↗ to um just be a part of our community

48:16 ↗ and learn more about our um different

48:19 ↗ AAPI

48:21 ↗ heritage. The other thing I want to note

48:23 ↗ here is I mentioned to you all and I

48:27 ↗ this is the information I currently

48:29 ↗ have. I'm still working on it. Um, but

48:31 ↗ April 22nd, so that's next Tuesday at

48:33 ↗ 6:30, the city of Kirkland has invited

48:36 ↗ us, the city of Kirkland Human Services

48:38 ↗ Commission rather has invited all

48:40 ↗ commissions to participate and join in

48:43 ↗ virtually or in person. Um, a panel um

48:47 ↗ so Debbie Lacy um she's from East Side

48:49 ↗ for all. She's going to facilitate a

48:52 ↗ panel that will focus on immigrant,

48:54 ↗ refugee, and undocumented populations

48:57 ↗ and the impact of current policy

48:58 ↗ changes. So, I feel like it's a very hot

49:01 ↗ topic, very relevant to our community.

49:03 ↗ Um, we at the time of this agenda, I

49:06 ↗ didn't have the information of who's on

49:07 ↗ the panel and I don't have the Zoom link

49:09 ↗ yet. Um, and so I think it'll be

49:12 ↗ actually teens invite. So, as soon as I

49:14 ↗ do, I will have that. Um, I'm hoping she

49:17 ↗ said by the 17th. So, that's tomorrow.

49:20 ↗ So before I go on vacation, I'll try to

49:21 ↗ send that to you. If I don't get it, I

49:24 ↗ will have our human services manager

49:26 ↗ send that out to everybody. So more

49:28 ↗ information to come. Um I I don't if you

49:32 ↗ do attend um you are attending as a

49:35 ↗ public um uh a public member. Um so I I

49:41 ↗ don't think I they will probably help

49:43 ↗ facilitate if you can. So not as a

49:45 ↗ member of the city of Esqua Human

49:46 ↗ Services Commission. Yes. Um and so you

49:50 ↗ will be attending um you can say that

49:52 ↗ you're from human services commission

49:53 ↗ from the city of Isiqua and they will

49:55 ↗ help facilitate it's like what the Q&A

49:57 ↗ will look like and stuff but um uh I so

50:01 ↗ it is okay to identify yourself as a

50:03 ↗ sorry for the confusion. Yeah, please

50:04 ↗ identify as yourself as representation.

50:06 ↗ Okay, apologies for that.

50:11 ↗ Okay, best arts for kids. Anybody

50:13 ↗ familiar with best art for kids? Yes.

50:15 ↗ Yes, bet you are.

50:17 ↗ Um so we had them visit um Isukqua um

50:21 ↗ some staff members there uh keen. So I I

50:24 ↗ listed here I won't go into too much

50:25 ↗ detail. I'm only because I'll revisit

50:28 ↗ this um in our next staff report. Um all

50:31 ↗ I'm I'm saying is um they would like to

50:34 ↗ come to the commission and just speak

50:35 ↗ about best starts for kids, talk about

50:37 ↗ their programs. Our agenda um items for

50:41 ↗ the next few months is very packed. Um

50:44 ↗ so we're looking at maybe the fall. Um,

50:46 ↗ so just want to put that one on your

50:47 ↗ radar that we um I'll I'll let you know

50:50 ↗ when they are on our agenda. Um, and uh

50:53 ↗ we what we will want to do is kind of

50:55 ↗ pro prepare them uh prepare some

50:57 ↗ questions for them. Um, and we'll go in

51:00 ↗ more detail about that. Just want to put

51:01 ↗ that on your

51:03 ↗ radar. Um, just an

51:07 ↗ updated. And then um again this is just

51:09 ↗ I'm trying to keep track of our

51:11 ↗ schedules for our site just so we just

51:14 ↗ have documentation on that. So I am

51:16 ↗ including past meetings and then future

51:18 ↗ meetings. So we have the circle, we had

51:20 ↗ the garage, we have a joint meeting

51:22 ↗ coming up. Um we're doing the Isqua Food

51:25 ↗ and Clothing Bank. Um this is an early

51:27 ↗ start, so please arrive early. That'll

51:30 ↗ be um fun for new commissioners to

51:33 ↗ figure out to come early. Um but we'll

51:36 ↗ talk to everybody about that. I'll send

51:38 ↗ out lots of great reminders. So, a

51:39 ↗ little little wonky there. We're also

51:42 ↗ having a few virtual guest uh actually

51:44 ↗ they could be in person. We'll have um

51:46 ↗ two additional uh presentations. So,

51:49 ↗ very busy night. So, our virtual desk um

51:53 ↗ guests are starting at

51:55 ↗ 7. Are we going to uh b So, we sorry

51:58 ↗ virtual guests actually we have one

52:01 ↗ more. We're squeezing in four here. So,

52:03 ↗ we'll have um the first one will start

52:06 ↗ at 6:30. 6:30. Yeah. Sorry. That this I

52:09 ↗ I just scheduled another one here. So,

52:12 ↗ we're going to have four um visits. One

52:16 ↗ in person um before the meeting starts

52:18 ↗ and then three during the meeting.

52:20 ↗ Great. So, that'll be nice fun one. June

52:23 ↗ 18th, we got three uh there's we have

52:26 ↗ Bridge Disability Ministries, we have

52:28 ↗ Isqua Community Services, and then we

52:30 ↗ have an internal individual coming um to

52:33 ↗ start. It's the light rail study

52:35 ↗ introduction. So, I don't know if you uh

52:37 ↗ remember or participated at the senior

52:39 ↗ center. We had a joint equity training

52:41 ↗ with this individual in regards to the

52:44 ↗ light rail. So, there's more information

52:46 ↗ on that. They're taking this

52:47 ↗ introduction. It's just going to be a

52:49 ↗ short introduction for us, more of a

52:51 ↗ discussion just or or sorry,

52:52 ↗ moreformational than a discussion. Um,

52:56 ↗ and this uh staff member is also going

52:59 ↗ to go to the equity equity board for

53:01 ↗ with this introduction. And then you can

53:03 ↗ see here in November we're going to be

53:05 ↗ doing a joint one. So you all said you

53:08 ↗ would are interested in doing joint um

53:10 ↗ meetings and so we'll have that in

53:13 ↗ November. Um September and October will

53:16 ↗ fill up quickly. Um and so those I'm

53:19 ↗ still working on getting

53:21 ↗ uh more visits from our nonprofits for

53:24 ↗ those. Um August we will cancel

53:27 ↗ it. And then in Febru oops that's a

53:32 ↗ typo. February 2026 we'll have another

53:34 ↗ joint meeting. We just got those

53:36 ↗ scheduled so I'm documenting so I don't

53:38 ↗ forget and you all are aware of that.

53:41 ↗ Great. Any

53:44 ↗ questions? And then the individual um

53:47 ↗ yes site

53:48 ↗ visits more. Well I mean I we're I think

53:52 ↗ we're going to go through you right.

53:54 ↗ We're back and I just Yeah. Thank you

53:56 ↗ for your patience um for the individual

53:58 ↗ site visits. We have been wrapping up um

54:01 ↗ contracts with our nonprofit. So, I

54:03 ↗ didn't really want to schedule this

54:04 ↗ until those were completed. Um and so,

54:07 ↗ starting in May, you'll see some

54:09 ↗ communication go out. You'll be CCed on

54:11 ↗ those and I will um do the warm handoff

54:16 ↗ and introductions and then I you can

54:19 ↗ keep me on the CC's if you want. Um but

54:21 ↗ then I will pass that on to you to start

54:23 ↗ scheduling. Yeah. And if you need any

54:26 ↗ assistance with that, I'm always happy

54:27 ↗ to do that.

54:30 ↗ And then I just have a this is a random

54:32 ↗ question. I know Jamie Loria is coming

54:35 ↗ to talk in May.

54:38 ↗ Does her or I know her organization is

54:40 ↗ new. Do they have a web presence? They

54:43 ↗ do not. Okay. You you you are more than

54:45 ↗ welcome to ask her about that, but

54:47 ↗ they're grassroots organization and yes,

54:49 ↗ they do not have an online presence. Are

54:52 ↗ they a 501c3? Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay.

54:57 ↗ Yes, they have to be to be funed. Good.

54:59 ↗ Yeah. Okay.

55:02 ↗ Great. Any other

55:05 ↗ questions? Thank you all for a wonderful

55:07 ↗ night. Thank you. Um is there anyone has

55:10 ↗ any other

55:12 ↗ business? If not, I would like to

55:16 ↗ adjourn and it is 8:04.

55:21 ↗ Thank you, Commissioner

Approved minutes

Extracted from the next meeting's packet, where this meeting's minutes were approved as a consent-calendar attachment.

Open PDF

Attendance

Council / Members (7)

Jaime Fajardo

arrived at 7:09 pm

Trish Bloor

Manny Brown

Madeline Fish

Lucrecia Choto

Preston Miele

Staff (3)

Hannah Roberts, Human Services Coordinator

Kaylee Jaech, The Garage, Executive Director

Erin Longchari, The Garage, Development Director

Excused

Maury Edwards

Huma Mohibullah

Recommendations & actions (2)

Sentences extracted from the narrative containing words like recommended, requested, directed, moved, or approved. Best-effort — verify against the full minutes for context.

Commissioner FISH motioned to approve the minutes of March19, 2025 as presented.
Commissioner BLOOR seconded the motion, there was unanimous consent to approve the minutes as presented.