Lawrence Sister Cities Advisory Board
November 11, 2009 minutes
|
MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Bill Keel, Stuart Boley, Jon Josserand, Bob Moody, Kelly Herndon, Bob Schumm, Michael Kennedy, Linda Hyler, Lynn Ground, Ken Albrecht, Dennis Christilles |
|
MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Andrew Tsubaki, Kathleen Hodge, Gina Ross |
|
STAFF LIAISON PRESENT: |
Cynthia Wagner |
|
PUBLIC PRESENT: |
|
The regular monthly meeting was held in the city commission chambers at City Hall at 5:30 on November 11, 2009. Chair Keel announced the presence of a quorum.
Announcements:
Dennis Christilles has been officially appointed to the sister cities advisory board by the Mayor.
He attends his first meeting today. He will serve the remainder of the unexpired term of Lori Hutfles. In that capacity he will also be serving as the official liaison from the Friends of Iniades to the board.
Review of the Minutes and Accounting Documents (Josserand and Boley)
The minutes of the regular October and special October 2009 meetings were approved, with minor corrections.
The accounting documents were distributed and explained. A question was raised of whether the board had received its second half of city monies for the year. This will be checked by Wagner. The accounting reports were accepted.
Scholarship Fundraiser Report (Moody)
Preliminary totals for the November Castle Tea Room fundraiser were provided by Moody. Total receipts amounted to $7,260 with expenditures of $3,362. This would produce net contributions to the scholarship fund of $3,898.
Friends of Hiratsuka (Kennedy)
Kennedy indicated that application forms for the Hiratsuka trip have been distributed and that applications are due back next week.
A question was received by a board member about whether a student who is a Baldwin resident but is currently attending a Lawrence school through a transfer agreement is eligible to be considered for the Hiratsuka trip. Discussion occurred about past practices regarding similar circumstances. The following policy statement was considered and adopted:
Friends of Eutin (Albrecht)
With the retirement of longtime Eutin trip coordinator Friedemann Eisert, Friends of Eutin has been exploring options to coordinate future exchange trips to Eutin.
A high school instructor has been identified who has experience with German exchanges and has the potential interest in becoming a successor trip coordinator. Friends of Eutin recently met with this individual and the high school instructors of German to discuss the future of the Eutin exchange. Aspects of past exchanges and possibilities for future exchanges were discussed.
It may be possible for this individual to coordinate a trip for next summer summer, without a change in the exchange cycle. This will depend upon a number of circumstances.
With a new trip coordinator, the existing curriculum, and details of the program could be modified or redesigned. One issue considered was whether awarding high school credit could or should be awarded in the future.
At the recent meeting, Frank Baron raised the possibility that a KU graduate student could be made available for adjunct language and cultural instruction for the high school students in Eutin. This possibility is being discussed, and could be a very positive additional resource for the program.
Friends of Iniades (Christilles)
The sister cities relationship between Iniades, Greece and Lawrence was established last month.
The official visitors to Lawrence from Iniades were very pleased with their visit. The Lawrence participants were also enthusiastic about meeting the officials and their associates from Iniades. A very warm relationship has been established.
The KU Theatre study abroad program will go to Iniades in the summer of 2010. The Friends of Iniades are discussing with their counterparts the potential ways to have a future exchange.
DCCF Agreement (Boley)
A number of members of the board recently met with Chip Blaser of the Douglas County Community Foundation to answer a variety of individual questions. Discussion occurred regarding these details.
A motion was made to authorize the Chair of the Board to execute a contract with the Douglas County Community Foundation for the foundation to hold and invest monies currently held for student scholarship support of youth exchanges. The motion was passed with one abstention.
City Management of Trip Accounts (Boley)
The matter of moving receipts and expenditures associated with the youth exchange trips to the City has been discussed several times. One of the reasons for this would be to reduce accounting expenses of the board associated with filing of IRS forms.
A concern had been expressed about airfare purchases and the need to remain nimble to respond to airfare market fluctuations. It was determined by city staff that competitive bidding would not be required by the city, but that appropriate language would need to be developed anticipating the board’s need for flexibility.
A motion was made to proceed to move the trip accounts to the city. The motion was passed with one abstention.
Membership renewal form (Josserand)
A revised membership application renewal form was distributed to the board and seemed to have general support. The Chair noted that membership renewals have traditionally been mailed in November.
Policies and Procedures (Josserand)
Josserand distributed a memo summarizing a number of recommendations made by the ad hoc policies and procedures committee:
A motion was passed to enact these as policies of the board. The board did not have time to discuss the original “recommendation six” pertaining to the selection of trip chaperones and sponsors. Due to a lack of time, this item was deferred to a future meeting for further discussion.
Officer elections for the 2010-2011 (Herndon)
The nominations committee recommended the following officers for 2010-2011:
No other nominations were received and these officers were elected as proposed.
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm.