07/27/2023 Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 27, 2023
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
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Meeting Minutes
Thursday, July 27, 2023
4:00 PM
Main Library - Council Chambers
Sister Cities Advisory Board
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 27, 2023
Roll Call
Present 6 - Board Member Robert Kantor, Chair Pamela Gene Benton,
Board Member Lina Teixeira, Board Member Doug Kelly, Board Member
Stephanie Chill, and Board Member Indira Yengera
Also Present—Amber Brice —Arts and Cultural Affairs Coordinator and Nicole Sprague
— Deputy City Clerk
1. Call To Order
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. at the Main Library.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the Minutes of the April 27, 2023 Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting.
Member Teixeira moved to approve the minutes of the April 27, 2023
Sister Cities Advisory Board meeting as submitted in written
summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: None.
4. New Business Items
4.1 Discuss the high school student exchange trip to Nagano, Japan.
Four high school students and one teacher chaperone left for Japan on June 22,
2023 and returned on July 3, 2023. The students gave a presentation about their
trip at the Clearwater City Council meeting on July 20, 2023. The chaperone
initially selected was not able to get her passport in time, so a different
chaperone, Anthony Powell, had to step in at the last minute. Mr. Powell will give
an overview of the trip.
Arts and Cultural Affairs Coordinator Amber Brice said four high school
students traveled to Japan June 22, 2023 - July 3, 2023 and all had a
smooth trip. She said Anthony Powell, a teacher at Largo Middle School,
served as the chaperone and she invited him to the Board meeting to share
his experience.
Anthony Powell said the trip was successful. He said the students had
immersive experiences and came back with strong relationships with
their host families and have a better understanding of other cultures. He
reviewed their schedule and activities and said the student's time in the
schools with the Japanese students left a profound mark on them.
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 27, 2023
In response to questions, Mr. Powell said the students participated in Field
Day, a concert event, and helped clean the classrooms and hallways at the
end of each day. Language was a bit of a barrier but the students used a
translation app on their phones to help communicate.
4.2 Update on Japanese students and teacher cultural exchange coming to Clearwater.
Students and chaperones as well as one teacher will be coming to Clearwater
in October 2023. Dates and details are still being determined.
Ms. Brice said she attended a zoom meeting with Nagano City and the
Nagano School Board to discuss the upcoming trip scheduled for October
21-30, 2023. There will be five high school students with chaperones and
they will spend the majority of their time at the high schools. She said the
middle school trip is scheduled for March 21-25, 2024. A teacher exchange
is also taking place October-November. One teacher from Japan will travel
here and two teachers from here will travel to Japan.
Discussion ensued regarding the types of activities the students would
enjoy while visiting.
4.3 Discuss Japanese lantern festival details.
The Cultural Affairs Department to meet with Sister Cities Inc. and other city
departments on July 27, 2023 to discuss a potential festival/event with traditional
Japanese elements and mirroring the annual lantern festival in Nagano.
Ms. Brice said a tentative festival date of February 10, 2024 was scheduled.
She said an evening component should be incorporated to show off the
illuminated lanterns. Staff will reach out to Ruth Eckerd Hall to see if there is
any interest to participate. She said staff will also reach out to vendors to
gauge interest and to determine how big of an event this could become.
4.4 Update on Sister City Agreement with Ixmiquilpan, Mexico.
The City has sent an official Sister Cities Agreement draft to the Mexican
Consulate in Orlando and we have only heard that they are "awaiting validation
from the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs". No formal document has been
agreed upon or signed as of July 13, 2023. The city is still hoping to move
forward with this.
Ms. Brice said the draft agreement was sent to the Mexican Consulate on
June 2, 2023. The Consulate responded and met with staff on July 25,
2023. The agreement will go to Council for approval on August 17, 2023
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 27, 2023
and the official signing of the agreement will occur at a special event on
August 19, 2023.
In response to questions, Ms. Brice said a couple general changes were
requested by the Consulate. She said the event will be pushed out on
social media and marketed to residents.
A comment was made that this relationship is good public relations for
Clearwater and Tampa Bay.
5. Director's Report
Sister Cities, Inc. representative Stephanie Chill said their group of middle
school students traveled to Japan June 6-20, 2023, the trip included seven
students and three chaperones. One of the chaperones said this trip was
the most welcoming and warmest trips ever and the students bonded with
their host families. Applications for the next trip will be available after the
start of the school year. She said a virtual exchange was held on July 15,
2023 and a brief video of Clearwater was shown that highlighted Moccasin
Lake Nature Park, the Long Center and Clearwater beach. Approximately
20 individuals participated in the virtual event.
In response to questions, Ms. Chill said she is unaware of other middle
school exchange programs in the Tampa Bay area, high school
programs are more common. She said the City of Clearwater has
provided scholarship funding for one middle school exchange student.
Host families are typically families of students who have traveled to
Japan in the past.
6. Board Members to be Heard
Member Kelly said he requested Sister City funding information.
Ms. Brice said $37,380.00 is contributed to the fund annually. She said the
fund has a surplus due to cancelled exchange trips for a typhoon in 2019
and Covid in 2020. Expenses for the Sister City program include Sister City
International dues, shirts for all exchange students and chaperones, and the
high school trip air fare. She said official delegation trips are budgeted for
every five years, the city pays for the employees. Spouses may travel too
but must pay their own way. She said she does not know what an exchange
or delegation trip would entail with Ixmiquilpan, Mexico.
7. Adjourn
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board
Attest:
Meeting Minutes
The meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m.
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City of Clearwater
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July 27, 2023
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