Minutes_Sister City Relationships Advisory Commission 1 21 15 Sister City Relationships Advisory Commission
DATE: Wednesday, January 21 , 2015
TIME: 4:00 PM
PLACE: City Hall — Conference Room A, 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque
Minutes
Present: Vice Chair Kevin Lynch; Commissioners Joyce Connors (4:07 p.m.), Bob Felderman, Jeffrey
Jochum, Phyllis Lee, Pat McNamara, Louise Thum (4:07 p.m.), Richard Van Iten, Annalee Ward
Excused: Sheila Castaneda, Dick Landis, Betty Phillips, Bryan Zygmont
1 . Approval of Minutes from the November 12, 2014 meeting: Motion by Lee. Seconded by
Felderman. Motion carried 7-0.
2. Follow Up on any Goal Setting information: Firnstahl will distribute compiled notes for
discussion at the March 18 meeting.
3. Dornbirn, Austria: Firnstahl shared the greeting card received from Dornbirn. Discussion was
given to a delegation visit to Dornbirn and the goal of such a visit. Lynch suggested reviewing
the city's calendar of events for the next year for invitations to Sister City representatives with
the Growing Sustainable Communities as a priority.
4. Handan, China: Update: Ward updated the commission on a recent by visitors from Handan to
the University of Dubuque to sign a ceremonial cooperative agreement. Connors and Lynch
both suggested that Dr. Wee of NICC to encourage more interaction between UD and NICC.
a. Photo Exhibit and Humanities Iowa Grant: Thum stated that the exhibit is currently in
McGreggor and will move on to Garnavillo and then the Decorah Library. We received
good comments from the Elkader exhibit. The exhibit will travel to the southern counties
along the Mississippi in the spring.
Discussion was given to exploring the pros and cons of operating a Sister City program as a non-
profit. Commissioners Felderman, Thum, and Van Iten will gather some information and bring it
back to the commission.
5. Pyatigorsk, Russia: Jochum reported that he recently met with Muscatine's Russian
representative but that communication with the Sister City has been difficult.
6. Pen Pal Artifact Exchanges — Thum reported that the Chinese/American students are working
at writing more accurate letters story mapping. Thum interviewed the American students to
gain background for matching with the Chinese students. The Austrian exchange has stalled
momentarily for lack of an Austrian teacher to partner with the American teacher. Thum
emphasized that e-mail exchanges between students are monitored by the teachers.
7. Library Archive and Display — Update postponed
8. Items from Commission: Connors reported on the receipt of an e-mail from a minister inquiring
about immigrant children. Ward reported on being interviewed by a boy scout working to
receive and Eagle Scout badge. Felderman suggested using Mediacom's Newsmakers
program as an opportunity to share the Pen Pal Artifacts Exchange program.
9. Items from Staff
a. Membership renewal: Firnstahl reminded members whose terms are nearing expiration
to submit their application for reappointment. Connors encouraged members to come to
the City Council meeting to speak in support of their reappointment.
b. Security training: Firnstahl reported that security training for public meetings is available
through the Police Department. He will inquire about scheduling a training session for a
future meeting.
c. Sister Cities International: Firnstahl provided information from SCI about changes to
their Affiliation Policy stating that a U.S. city doesn't require a cooperative agreement if
the foreign city already has existing U.S. partner and if two U.S. cities share the same
foreign city, the first city is considered as the Charter Sister City.
10. Next Meeting: March 18 at 4 p.m., Conference Room A, City Hall.
11 .Adjournment: Motion by Lee to adjourn at 5:02 p.m. Seconded by Ward. Motion carried 9-0.
Prepared and submitted by Kevin S. Firnstahl, City Clerk