HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-08-17 _Minutes - NCBCYakima City Council Committee Minutes
Neighborhood & Community Building Committee (NCBQ
City Council Chambers, City Hall
August 17, 2017
Committee Members
Dulce Guti6rrez, Chair
Carmen Mendez
Avina Guti6rrez (absent)
Holly Cousens, Alternate
Sara Watkins
Jeff Cutter
Lisa Maxey
Randy Beehler
Staff
Scott Schafer
Ken Wilkinson
Alvie Maxey
Chair Dulce Guti6rrez called the meeting to order at approximately 2:10 p.m.
Presentation of Final Report from Ethics 8a_ Equal Rights Exploratory Committee (ESRC] — Maria Rodriguez
and David Morales provided a brief, verbal update on their findings report to City Council. The exploratory
committee focused on three issues: housing, wage theft, and equity study. Morales highlighted some issues
related to housing that may justify the creation of a permanent committee: lack of internet, poor housing
conditions, and issues related to discrimination due to communication barriers. He distributed a summary
which includes ideas to address some of the housing related issues. Rodriguez added that the public does not
know how or where to submit complaints and a permanent committee would serve as a resource for them. In
regards to wage theft, Morales described examples of how that occurs in the job market. Mendez and D.
Gutierrez expressed appreciation for their time and efforts. M6ndez pointed out that "ethics" was not
addressed in their presentation. D. Gutierrez agreed that more clarity on ethics is necessary and supports that
"housing" and "wage theft" be addressed at a permanent committee level. She asked if the exploratory
committee was able and willing to continue their work to answer some of the concerns noted. Rodriguez
stated that they will meet through the end of the year. Deb Sterling, exploratory committee member,
requested direction as to what the NCBC would like the EERC to specifically address as there is a broad
range of ideas. D. Guti6rrez made herself available to discuss this with the EERC focus groups to establish
clear guidelines.
Follow -Up on Council Meeting Subtitles and Cost Information — Beehler provided cost estimates for Council
meeting translation captioning/subtitles from English to Spanish. He explained the captioning services that
vendors provide such as real-time captioning which is provided live as the meeting occurs and tends to be
less accurate; and offline captioning which is provided after a meeting takes place and is more accurate
because the translator can pause and rewind. The annual cost for real-time captioning, based on the average
number of Council meetings, would be approximately $46,000 and the annual cost of offline captioning
would be approximately $71,000. D. Guti6rrez inquired about the possibility of a three month trial period, to
which Beehler responded he will research that and report at the next NCBC meeting.
Intern Recognition — Lidia Diaz and Aaron Hernandez were recognized and thanked for their participation in
the summer Council internship program. They shared their experience and thanked the committee for this
opportunity.
Board Appointed Reports — Standing Item
Transit Development Plan/Transit Related Issues — D. Gutierrez recapped the topics of the previous
meeting: bus services for special events, vanpool received three new vans, grant for new transit shelters with
solar lighting, GIS mapping features for transit purposes, new bus route book effective August 28". The next
meeting is November 8, 2017.
Parks & Recreation Commission — No August meeting, nothing new to report.
Henry Beauchamp Community Center — July meeting was rescheduled to the fourth Tuesday in August.
Historic Preservation (HPC) —The next meeting is August 23`d at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The
board will sign the approved letter to the Board of County Commissioners. The final event for the HPC at the
Farmer's Market will be September 10'. There is one vacancy on the commission.
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Yakima Planning Commission — Calhoun reported that the Planning Commission initiated discussion on the
final plat administrative procedures. The next meeting is August 23`d where they will review a preliminary
long plat. There is one vacancy on the commission.
Bike/Pedestrian Committee — Phil Mattoon reported that the Bicycle Master Plan was received and the
committee had an opportunity to review it and provide feedback. They would like the Council to adopt the
final plan in October. The next meeting is September 121H
Homeless Network — The August meeting was cancelled; nothing new to report.
TRANS Action Committee —D. Gutierrez asked staff to inform her of the next meeting date.
Ethics & Equal Rights Committee (EERQ — The EERC presented their findings report at this meeting.
Community Integration Committee (CIEQ — The next meeting is August 21St. Watkins reported that some
committee members will attend the Downtown Summer Nights event to conduct surveys. They intend to
present their final report to Council at their October 17" meeting. They extended an invitation to the NCBC
members to join them at their upcoming meetings.
Approval of Minutes — Motion made by Mendez, seconded by D. Gutierrez, to approve the amended minutes
of 06/29/2017; motion carried by unanimous vote. A motion was made by Mendez, seconded by D.
Gutierrez, to approve the minutes of 07/20/2017 as presented; motion carried unanimously.
Recap of Deliverables — Staff reviewed the following list of deliverables from this meeting:
• Follow-up on possibility of trial period for Council meeting Spanish subtitles
• Date of the next TRANS -Action meeting
The committee agreed to move Board Appointed Reports as the first item of future NCBC meeting agendas.
D. Gutierrez announced that Spanish interpretation services are available; however, require a 48 hour
advance notice.
Audience Participation — None noted.
Mendez asked for an update on the equity study validation project. Staff will report at next month's NCBC
meeting.
Adiourn — D. Gutierrez adjourned this meeting at 3:00 p.m.; the next meeting is September 21, 2017.
Approved by: ��,e .► x ,_�
Date Approved: O
Prepared by: Rosalinda Ibarra, Community Development Administrative Assistant
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