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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No. 4.G.
For Meeting of: May 4, 2021
ITEM TITLE: Resolution deferring and continuing the mentorship and internship
program to 2022
SUBMITTED BY: Sara Watkins, City Attorney
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
On March 12, 2020, a Mayoral Proclamation of Civil Emergency and Order declared a state of
emergency in the City of Yakima due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVI D-19"), and
subsequently proclamations have extended the civil emergency. The Governor, in collaboration
with the Washington State Department of Health, recently issued his phased plan for reopening.
Currently Yakima is at Phase 3, but in this phase there is still limited access to City Hall, and City
Council meetings remain remote. Yakima School District only recently began having in-person
learning in the high schools and vaccinations just recently became widely available to adults.
The mentorship and internship program is part of the settlement in the case of Montes v.Arteaga
v. City of Yakima et al., where the plaintiffs donated part of their fee award back to the City of
Yakima for the mentorship and internship program. There is a balance of$23,696.28 that
remains for the internship program in 2021. As a result of the continuing significant increase of
COVI D-19 cases, attached for Cm
consideration is a resolution deferring and continuing
the mentorship and internship program to 2022. Contact with the ACLU has not resulted in any
response that objects to an additional deferral of the program due to COVI D-19.
ITEM BUDGETED: NA
STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Public Trust and Accountability
APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL BY THE CITY MANAGER
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt resolution.
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date Type
es- fernn ntinuin Mentorship Internship
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D Program to 2022 4rar2021 Resolution
D Ltr-ACLU Mcntorship.11, Internship Program-3 30.21 4tar2021 Backup Material
3
RESOLUTION NO. R-2021-
A RESOLUTION deferring and continuing the mentorship and internship program to 2022.
WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, a Mayoral Proclamation of Civil Emergency and Order
declared a state of emergency in the City of Yakima due to the coronavirus disease 2019
("COVID-19"), and subsequent Mayoral Proclamations have extended the emergency; and
WHEREAS, Yakima is currently in Phase 3 of the Governor's plan to re-open Washington;
and
WHEREAS, City Council meetings continue to be held virtually and City Hall remains open
by limited appointment only pursuant to the Governor's plan; and
WHEREAS, the Yakima School District just recently re-opened high schools for in-person
learning; and
WHEREAS, vaccines just became widely available for adults in Yakima County; and
WHEREAS,the mentorship and internship program for high school students in the Yakima
School District is part of the settlement in the case of Montes and Arteaga v. City of Yakima, et
aL, where the plaintiffs donated part of their fee award back to the City of Yakima for the
mentorship and internship program, and as part of the program, in past years students have
worked at the City during the summer; and
WHEREAS, as a result of COVID-19 and the emergency that exists, the City Council has
determined that deferring the 2021 mentorship and internship program to 2022 will best protect
the health and safety of the high school student interns as well as City staff; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YAKIMA:
The mentorship and internship program is deferred and continued to 2022.
ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 4'h day of May, 2021.
Patricia Byers, Mayor
ATTEST:
Sonya Clear Tee, City Clerk
LEGAL DEPARTMENT
1'''4114:i'l 200 South Third Street
Yakinut, Washington 98901-2830
,0,4'* March 30, 2021
f
Mr. John Midgley
ACLU of Washington Foundation
P.O. Box 2728
Seattle, WA 98111-2728
Re: Montes v. City of Yakima: Settlement Agreement
Mentorship-Internship Program Status
Dear Mr. Midgley:
I hope this letter finds you well. As you know, up until the COVID-19 pandemic, the City was
utilizing the $100,000.00 settlement funds set aside as part of the Montes case to fund a yearly
program providing mentorships and internships to local high school students interested in
government and government participation. That program, unfortunately, could not be operated
last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City fully intended to operate the program this
year, 2021, however, we are still in the midst of the pandemic, with high rates of positive tests in
Yakima County. City Hall remains closed to the public, and meetings are being held via Zoom.
Not all City personnel have been vaccinated, and the schools just recently started in-person
learning in the Yakima School District.
Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the City intends to again postpone the Mentorship-
Internship program for one year, and re-start the program in 2022. The City looks forward to again
hosting local high school students, providing them with Councilmember mentors, and summer
internships in one of the City's divisions or departments. However, we cannot do so this summer
based on the current circumstances. Unless I hear from you otherwise, I will assume that the City's
plan to postpone is acceptable to the ACLU. If not, please contact me immediately to further
discuss the program.
Hopefully the pandemic will be far behind us in 2022 and we will be able to provide the mentorship
and internship opportunities to students in the Yakima School District as we have in the past. Stay
safe, and thank you for your continued coordination on this program.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Si rely,
Sara Watkins
City Attorney
cc: Connie Mendoza, Human Resources Director Yakima
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Civil Division (509) 5-5-6030 Prosecution DiiiSi011 (.)09) 575-6033 Fax (509) 575-6160 2015
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