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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/21/2017 05B Community Integration Exploratory Committee - First Quarterly ReportBUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDASTATEMENT Item No. 5.13. For Meeting of: March 21, 2017 ITEM TITLE: Community Integration Exploratory Committee First Quarterly Report SUBMITTED BY: Randy Beehler, Staff Liaison ArthurAlcazar, Committee Chair SUMMARY EXPLANATION: Community Outreach and Education: Through sincerest efforts, it is recommended that the City partake in increased outreach services and education that will empower Yakima residents to become more actively engaged in the community and their neighborhoods. Upon evaluation of existing resources, it may be recommended that the City of Yakima broaden such existing resources to ensure maximum participation and awareness. If broadening such efforts is deemed necessary, this could make a stronger argument that a permanent Community Integration Committee is needed. Furthermore, it would be critical that such committee would be culturally competent, diverse, accessible, and knowledgeable in our community resources. Priorities may include: ensuring all residents, regardless of primary language spoken or socioeconomic status, are aware of any City opportunity, proposed change, or local event. Multi -pronged communication strategies are strongly recommended in order to best suit the needs and wants of our diverse community. ITEM BUDGETED: NA STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Neighborhood and Community Building APPROVED FOR ,., '� SUBMITTAL: City Manager Cl* STAFF RECOMMENDATION: BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Distributed at the 58 .C,ity.of Yakima Meeting 3-�"t7 Community Integration Exploratory Committee Quarterly Report Over the past several months the City of Yakima Community Integration Exploratory Committee has met on the second Monday of each month. This committee is made of seven members including myself; with each member having a diverse Ethnic, Education, and Occupational background. We applied and interviewed with City Council members Each chosen to be tasked within twelve months to investigate and report to see if this committee should be a permanent committee for the City of Yakima. On our first official meeting we focused on what we interpreted as Community Integration. After setting our foundation for meetings and other housekeeping rules, we each agreed that we would have an elevator speech or a mission statement. At our next meeting in February we each presented our speeches and statements I am very pleased to announce that we made a unanimous decision to choose one elevator speech and one mission statement that is best suited for our committee Community Integration Exploratory Committee Elevator Speech. • Hello, I'm with the City of Yakima Community Integration Committee Currently, there are many challenges facing our community and we would like your ideas and input on how we can go about bringing this community together and building relationships among our residents. We have through December 31, 2017 to assess needs in Yakima and would be very appreciative of your thoughtful recommendations Tell me about your concerns and your ideas Community Integration Exploratory Committee Mission Statement. • The Community Integration Exploratory Committee seeks to advise the Yakima City Council on ways to improve community engagement, diversify the city government and workforce and give a voice to all Yakima residents. They accomplish these goals by investigating issues in all seven Yakima districts, researching successful programs in other cities and providing thoughtful strategy recommendations to Yakima leaders through December 31, 2017 Following multiple discussions and brainstorming sessions, the committee selected three main objectives on which to focus their attention. These objectives are as follows 1 Develop a sense of pride among Yakima residents and increase investment in the community With this topic the Committee understands the importance of localized, neighborhood engagement as well as investment in the City of Yakima as a whole The Community Integration Exploratory Committee seeks to investigate ways to promote Yakima's diverse assets with an emphasis on positive, inclusive messaging Yakima queeop 2015 1994 2 Apply an integration lens on policy awareness efforts and impact. With this Topic the committee has reviewed various studies, including the City of Yakima's Equity Study and the 2016 Yakima County Indicators Report. Through this research, the Exploratory Committee has discussed the impact of city policies on community integration, equity and access The Exploratory Committee has also discussed with City Staff the current process of policy, resolution and ordinance creation. 3 Increase community outreach and education in Yakima. With this topic and a result of research and discussion, The Committee believes an increase in outreach services and education will empower Yakima residents to become more actively engaged in the community and their neighborhoods. Multi-pronged communication strategies are strongly encouraged in order to best suit the needs and wants of our diverse community The Community Integration Exploratory Committee continues to meet, we are anxious to conduct additional research about best practices to dig deeper into data resources such as the City of Yakima Equity Study, the 2016 Yakima County Indicators Report, Virginia Mason Memorial Community Health Needs Assessment and other city's integration polices to help make their case At this time we have not agreed nor disagreed that this committee shall be a permanent committee We also have not agreed nor disagreed on any recommendations to best support if this should be a permanent committee The Community Integration Exploratory Committee is grateful for the opportunity to serve the City of Yakima in this capacity and is excited to share more updates in June Yakima nmemgp 2015 1994