Lawrence Sister Cities Board • Meeting May 11, 2005

City of Lawrence

Lawrence Sister Cities Advisory Board

September 13, 2006 minutes

MEMBERS PRESENT:	Stuart Boley, Lynn Ground, Kathleen Hodge, Linda Hyler, Jon Josserand, William Keel, Michael Kennedy, Graham Kreicker, Gina Ross, Bob Schumm, Karen Swisher, Andrew Tsubaki
MEMBERS ABSENT:	Nancy Bjorge, Sheila Immel
STAFF LIASION PRESENT:	Lisa Patterson
PUBLIC PRESENT:	Jan Stewart of Office Helpline

Prior to the meeting Jan Stewart of Office Helpline supplied us with lists of current (2006) paid members as well as a list Hodge had supplied her. Stewart will email Hyler this list to send out to members.

Meeting called to order at 5:35 PM by Ross.

Kreicker moved Boley seconded that the minutes from August 9, 2006 be approved. Motion passed.

A review of our finances was presented by Ground. Ground pointed out the new detailing on the Eutin and Hiratsuka income and expense pages. Boley moved and Kreicker seconded that the financial statements form August 2006 be approved. Motion passed.

Schumm reported on the meeting August 14, 2006, from the sub-committee of the Third Sister City Meeting. Attending this meeting were Schumm, Josserand, Ground, Ross, and Patterson. This group has provided the San Lorenzo group a list of questions so that we can assess the commitment for a long-term relationship. The Third Sister City subcommittee will meet with the U.S. San Lorenzo group to discuss these questions. Ground provided the questions that were developed by the Third Sister City Subcommittee. They are as follow:

Agenda/Queries for Meeting Sister Cities Subcommittee on Third Sister Cities/Representatives

August 30, 2006

Alvamar Professional Building

Describe the Friends of San Lorenzo support group including number of members, and ability/willingness to become actively engaged over the time in Sister Cities relationship?
Highlights of your recent trip to San Lorenzo?
What is the depth and extent of the relationship with San Lorenzo?
Is there a counterpart friends group in San Lorenzo and what is their commitment? Describe that group.
Is there a commitment in San Lorenzo beyond the current city regime to actively engage in a Sister Cities relationship with Lawrence over the long haul? If so, by whom?
Is there a potential to send 20 students annually with existing resources in San Lorenzo?
What is the ability for San Lorenzo to fund student exchanges?
In what types of exchanges other than student ones do you envisage that San Lorenzo is willing/able to exchange?
What is San Lorenzo’s relationship with its other sister cities and what are the city’s resources?
What are the Friends of San Lorenzo’s expectations in becoming a Sister City of Lawrence?
Universities in San Lorenzo?
Overview of demographic & economic situation in Paraguay/San Lorenzo.
Overview of political/security situation in Paraguay/San Lorenzo. Would students and other visitors be/feel safe and welcome?
Review the history of Kansas Paraguay Partnerships & Projects.
Expectation that Friends of San Lorenzo would become members of Lawrence Sister Cities.
Cost of travel/routes to Paraguay?

Josserand summarized the Policy for Funding Exchanges of Cultures that he had put together from input provided by board members and based on a first-draft presented at a previous meeting. Tsubaki moved and Kreicker seconded that we table the policy for discussion at the next meeting. Motion passed.

Hodge and Schumm provided information regarding the Scholarship Fundraising event at Pachamama’s on Thursday, September 28 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Members worked on the invitations. Keel and Kennedy will get digital pictures of kids on the 2006 trips and scholarship students to speak. Kennedy will get larger poster-style pictures of students made for the event. Ground, Hyler, Keel, Ross will take turn sitting at the donations table. Everyone please bring your digital cameras.

Kreicker moved that we have the October 8 membership event as outlined in his previous email. Invitations would not go out until September 28 so as not to conflict with the fundraising event. Seconded by Hyler. Motion passed.

Tsubaki presented information about several upcoming events.

1) The 9th Japan Festival of the Greater Kansas City will be held on Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 8, at the Carlesen Center of JCCC in Overland Park. It begins at 10 am on Saturday and noon on Sunday. It will go on till 6 pm on both days. The program will close with the Taiko (drum) playing by the Mu Daiko from Minneapolis this year. The input Lawrence has this year is an Opera Singer, Yukiko Iwasaki, a resident of Hiratsuka. She will sing Japanese songs, including Mme. Butterfly pieces, both days. Usual classical Japanese music, Buyou dance, lectures, bazaar, delicious foods, anime shows, etc. are all there.

2) Yukiko Iwasaki, Hiratsuka singer, will present her recital at the Swarthout Recital Hall, at KU, at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 10, after completing her presentations at the Japan Festival. She is accompanied by her piano player and her son, the manager. They will be staying at Nancy Bjorge's home, thanks for her accomodating home stay for them. Lawrence Sister Cities Advisory Board is financing her visit partially and we hope many people will take advantage of this opportunity to check out what our sister city in Japan can offer to us.

3) Mr. Takao Shibata, former Consulate-General of Japan at the Kansas City Office, is now in residence in Lawrence to teach at KU this year as a Distinguished Visiting Professor. He will present his lecture along with his wife, Ms. Mieko Ikegame who works at the United Nations in New York, at the Japan Festival, but Mr. Shibata will be offering a number of lectures at KU. Among those the one on this Monday, Sept. 18, is entitled "Japan-China

Relations in the 21st Century: Reconceptualizing World War II on the Eve of China's Economic Expansion" will be presented in the Malott Room in the Kansas Union at 7:30 pm sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies, KU. Refreshment will be served.

Tuesday, September 19, will be the introduction of the Eutin students at the city commission at 6:35 with a reception at the Depot. SCAB members are invited and encouraged the reception at 6:45.

Josserand moved we adjourn. Schumm seconded. Motion passed.

The following was presented by Josserand for the Board’s future consideration and is a revision of a subcommittee proposal.

Sister Cities Advisory Board

Policy for Funding Exchanges of Cultures

Original Draft July 2006 as modified by Jon Josserand September 2006

Sister Cities Mission: The purpose of the Board is to seek, support, coordinate, foster and develop sister city exchange programs of an educational or charitable nature. Source: Sister Cities Advisory Board Bylaws, Article I. Section 2.

Policy Purpose: The Sister Cities Board strives to foster educational exchange programs focused on cultures native to our Sister Cities and to empower the friends groups to pursue additional programs and exchanges related to these purposes.

Policy Guidance: The purpose of this policy is to establish the guidelines to be used by the Sister Cities Board in providing financial support for these programs through its several Friends Groups.

The Sister Cities Board supports and encourages the ongoing functioning of the Sister Cities Friends Groups in executing the educational exchange programs as well as creating, prioritizing, and underwriting requests for related exchanges and ancillary requests. Friends Groups will be the primary group responsible for responding and funding these requests. Friends Groups should conduct public meetings on a regular periodic basis, have regular officer elections, keep and maintain a membership list, and provide minutes to the Sister Cities Board. It is anticipated that the Friends Groups will maintain the closest working ties with many individuals in the Sister Cities programs and therefore should be the entities to receive and make determinations of request for support for educational exchanges and related and ancillary programs, within the amounts available to them.

Process: The Sister Cities Advisory Board will make an annual allocation of operating funds to the Friends Groups for the purpose of supporting their exchanges of programs and activities native to the cultures in our Sister Cities and in Lawrence, KS. The allocation will be made once during the year during the board’s budget process in November.

The friends groups will have the responsibility to recommend expenditures from the annual allocations.
Friends groups must engage interested parties in discussions of proposed programs and activities.
In order to promote stewardship of limited resources and allow accumulations for particular larger programming, absent extraordinary circumstances it would be the intent of the Sister Cities Board to carry forward unexpended balances to the Friends Groups from one year to the next.
The Friends Groups shall promptly communicate to the Sister Cities Board President any commitments made in response requests for financial support for exchanges, ad-hoc programs or exchanges, and any similar supportive programming. The President shall report these commitments to the Board no later than its next Board meeting.
The Friends groups should keep and remit appropriate receipts, bills, and related documentation to the Sister Cities Board Treasurer for prompt payment.
To assure for coordination with other groups, and to assure for compliance to city and federal requirements, fund-raising efforts should be coordinated by approval of the Sister Cities Board or its officers.
A subsequent allocation to the Friends Groups beyond the annual one is not anticipated.

Principles: In responding to requests for exchanges, similar supportive programming, and other ad-hoc requests for support, the Friends Groups should be guided by the following principles and priorities:

Sister Cities is supported by appropriations from the City of Lawrence. In turn, programs must primarily benefit individuals and groups who are residents of the City of Lawrence, or have an especially strong nexus to the City of Lawrence, or are individuals and groups from the cities of our Sister Cities.
Secondarily, programs may benefit individuals and groups in Douglas County and the State of Kansas, and the analogous local regions (county and region) of our Sister Cities.
Individuals and groups showing past support for Sister Cities programs, as demonstrated by dues membership and volunteer efforts, should receive higher priority and consideration for funding than those not showing such support.
Promotion of long-term dues paying membership relationships to Sister Cities programs should always be promoted in an effort to continue programming benefits.

The following is a copy of the original proposal from the subcommittee.

Sister Cities Advisory Board

Policy for Funding Cultural Exchanges

Drafted July 2006

The Sister Cities Advisory Board directs the friends groups to seek opportunities that

· meet the Board’s mission to support, coordinate, foster and develop sister city exchange programs of an educational or charitable nature.

· fills a gap in the existing programs of the Sister Cities Advisory Board.

Process: The Sister Cities Advisory Board will make an annual allocation of __% of operating funds to be divided equally among the friends groups for the purpose of supporting the exchanges of programs and activities native to the cultures in our Sister Cities and in Lawrence, KS. The allocation will be made during the board’s budget process in November.

The friends groups will have the responsibility to recommend expenditures from the annual allocations.
Friends groups must engage interested parties in discussions of proposed programs and activities.
Funds not used by one friends group during the year may be rolled to that friends group future year expenditures permitting the accumulation of funds for projects of a larger scale.
Written request for expenditures must be made to the Sister Cities Advisory Board at least 30 days prior to needed distribution. Request should address the guidance and criteria of the funding policy.

The board will review proposed exchanges and consider approval on the following criteria:

Exchanges should support students.
Exchanges should support non-profit organizations and not fund activities of for-profit organizations or events.

Priority will be given to this hierarchy.

Funding considerations should be given to the following:

1. Residents of the City of Lawrence, KS, Eutin, Germany and Hiratsuka, Japan.

2. Members current with Sister Cities membership dues.

3. Residents of Douglas County, Kansas, equivalent of county respective to Sister Cities in Germany and Japan.

4. Residents of the State of Kansas, equivalent of state respective to Sister Cities in Germany and Japan.