01/28/2016 Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 28, 2016
City of Clearwater
City Hall
112 S. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33756
e
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, January 28, 2016
4:00 PM
Long Center, 2nd Floor
Sister Cities Advisory Board
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 28, 2016
Roll Call
Present 5 - Vice Chair Terrence Gourdine, Board Member Hoyt Hamilton,
Board Member Desaray Dilday, Board Member Pamela Gene
Benton, and Board Member Candace Hays
Absent 1 - Chair Sallie Parks
Also Present - Christopher Hubbard — Cultural Affairs Specialist, Patricia Sullivan -
Board Reporter
1. Call To Order
The Vice Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. at the Long
Center.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approval of minutes from September 24, 2015 meeting
Minutes of the September 24, 2015 Sister Cities Advisory Board
meeting were approved as submitted in written summation by
unanimous consent.
3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: None
4. New Business Items
4.1 Middle School visit
Cultural Affairs Specialist Christopher Hubbard reviewed the itinerary for
the 12 Nagano middle school exchange students and three chaperones
arriving in Tampa on February 27, 2016. The delegation will depart March
3, 2016. Additional home stay families were needed. Pinellas County
schools scheduled mandatory testing on March 1 & 2, 2016. Staff
awaited responses from Clearwater private schools asked to host the
students for a day and a half.
It was stated that Dunedin Middle School only tested 6th graders on
those days and perhaps could host the exchange students. Staff will
contact the school.
4.2 Election of officers
Member Hays moved to reappoint Sallie Parks as Chair. The motion
was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Member Hamilton moved to reappoint Terrence Gourdine as Vice Chair.
The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
5. Old Business Item
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 28, 2016
Recommendation to expand Sister Cities Advisory Board and rescind
residency requirements
It was questioned what progress had been made re September's board
recommendation that City Council amend the Code to increase the
number of Sister Cities Advisory Board members to seven, rescind the
residency requirement for the youth representative, and open the new
seat to non-residents.
Member Hamilton said he would present the board's recommendation to
the Council. Mr. Hubbard said staff would prepare necessary
background information.
Recommendation for City Council to establish exchange program
scholarship
Discussion ensued re September's board recommendation that the City
Council establish a student exchange program scholarship for
underprivileged students. As every organization would solicit the Council
for money if it funded this scholarship, it was recommended that CSCI
(Clearwater Sister Cities, Inc.) identify other funding sources, such as
CFY(Clearwater for Youth) and Pinellas County Education Foundation.
Mr. Hubbard discussed the City's grant to the Clearwater Historical
Society. The City received requests from other non profits for
operational support. It was stated there was a big difference between
Clearwater Sister Cities, an official entity of the City, and the Clearwater
Historical Society, which was not. It was stated the City Council had
designated Clearwater Historical Society as the official historical
reference for the City before approving the grant.
Concern was expressed that the City was not serving all of its citizens
as many worthy Clearwater students would qualify for the exchange
program if economic challenges did not prevent their participation. It was
felt the program would be improved if the pool of candidates expanded
beyond middle class white kids.
Member Hamilton said he would arrange to contact the Pinellas County
Education Foundation.
6. Director's Report
Board Member/CSCI Representative Hays thanked the City,
Administrative Support Manager Felicia Donnelly, and Mr. Hubbard for
their efforts organizing last fall's delegation visit to Nagano. She said
CSCI would like to involve more youth in exchanges. She reported that
CSCI recently had a membership party.
Ms. Hays said CSCI received five applications for this year's Young
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes January 28, 2016
Ambassadors program, including one from a foster child. She hoped to
receive 10 applications by the February 1 deadline. Following
chaperone interviews, she said James Wallace, a Carwise Middle
School teacher, was chosen to lead the group. She said this year's
itinerary was being revamped to be more educational; all chaperones
were educators.
Ms. Hays said CSCI had worked hard to raise money for scholarships
and was offering two $500 scholarships this year. She said last year's
visit cost approximately $3, 000 per student. She said CSCI was working
with the airline to reserve the lowest fare for this year's group.
Mr. Hubbard said Nagano and Clearwater had expressed interest in
reinstating the high school student exchange program. Ms. Hays said
CSCI would help.
7. Committee Members to be Heard
8. Adjourn
Members sent best wishes to former Board Member Danielle Dilday who
was studying in Italy.
The meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m.
City of Clearwater
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Chair - Sister Cities Advisory Board