Minutes_Sister City Relationships Advisory Commission 2 8 12Sister City Relationships Advisory Commission
DATE: Wednesday, February 8, 2012
TIME: 5:00 PM
PLACE: City Hall — Conference Room A, 50 W. 13th Street, Dubuque
Minutes
Present: Chairperson Dick Landis; Commissioners Michael Coty, Betty Phillips,
Annalee Ward, Louise Thurn, Jeff Jochum, Pat McNamara, Sheila Castaneda, Phyllis
Lee (Joined at 5:15 p.m.)
Absent: Council Members Kevin Lynch and Joyce Connors; Commissioner Larissa
Filimonenko
1. Call to Order
2. Swearing In of New Commissioner Phyllis Lee (completed post adjournment)
3. Approval of Minutes for December 7, 2011 Meeting
Motion by Ward to approve the minutes as submitted. Seconded by Landis.
Motion carried 8 -0.
4. Monthly Newsletters & Correspondence to Sister City Contacts Follow Up
Landis provided follow up information on continued correspondence to the Sister
Cities of Handan and Dornbirn. Dubuque received several seasonal greeting
cards and each contact person was sent information on the Dubuque's Art on the
River program.
5. Communication Plan to Establish and Maintain Connections
Landis reported on the upcoming visit by incoming Chinese President Xi Jinping
to Des Moines February 13 & 14. Dick will travel to Des Moines as a
representative of Dubuque and the Commission. Landis has received
correspondence from the City of Trois - Rivieres that expressed their interest in
information sharing on development and other similarities between our two cities
but not an official relationship at this time.
6. Dornbirn, Austria — Dubuque Delegation Visit, June 4 -9, 2012
Discussion was given to the number of interested delegates compared to what
the budget can afford. There is potential for 8 delegates. Commissioners who
expressed interest include McNamara, Ward, Coty, Jochum, and Castaneda On
addition to Mayor Buol, Chairperson Landis, City Clerk Firnstahl). Landis
suggested contacting the Rhomberg's and Schendinger's to see if they wanted to
travel along as ancestral families. Firnstahl will get more exact information on
airfare. Commissioners were asked to consider talking points and an agenda for
a possible delegation and to visit Dornbirn's official website. Landis suggested
developing a three -year plan for this relationship.
7. Pyatigorsk Park Signage / Voetberg Memorial (on- going)
Landis and Jochum have meet with the Leisure Services Department about
bilingual identification signage and interpretive signage for the park in conjunction
with the department's plan to update park signage city -wide. Suggestions
included a picture of Pyatigorsk and a drinking fountain possibly designed by a
Pyatigorsk designer given that the Russian city is a mineral spring spa location.
Installation could take place late spring or early summer 2012.
8. Items from Commission
a. Sister City International Conference 2015 Proposal: Information has been
given to the Conventional and Visitors Bureau. They will prepare and RFP
to include Dubuque as a potential location.
b. University of Platteville Confucius Institute — Landis reported on the fall fall
symposium, "Doing Business in China," and suggested that the visitors
bureau could provide advanced information that could be passed on to
Handan as an invitation.
9. Items from Staff
Firnstahl reiterated information for the Sister Cities International Annual
Conference, Jacksonville, Florida, July 12 -14, 2012
10. Next Meeting: March 7, at 4:00 p.m.
11.Adjournment:
There being no further business, Jochum moved to adjourn at 5:50 p.m.
Seconded by Coty. Motion carried 9 -0.
DRAFT
Richard Landis, Chairperson
Submitted by Kevin S. Firnstahl, City Clerk