LAKEWOOD ADVISORY COMMISSION FOR AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY
Commission Meeting—Minutes
July 15, 2009
Minutes are not a verbatim transcription but rather an attempt to capture the intent of the speaker.

ITEM 1 – Call to Order:  6:30 p.m. by Chair, Karen Harrison

ITEM 2 – Roll Call:

Commissioners Present:  Bell; Capel-Jones; Chevalier, A; Chevalier, E; Cohn; Fodor; Fox, J; Fox, L; Gaffney-Kindig; Goldberg; Hanna; Harrison; Heckle; Herron; Hinsvark; Johnson; Kinney; Larsen; Leonhart; Lucero-Trujillo; McNeill; Olson; Raia; Rathe; Slabe; Taylor; Varnes; Weston; Wicht; and Erma Steck, Advisor/Coordinator.   (Quorum of 28 Commissioners present.)
Honored Guests: Michael Kindig.  Michael O’Hanlon (visiting Diversity Committee); Matthew Jensen and Emily Wilson (visiting Youth Committee).
Karen Harrison introduced new Commissioner, Mike Olson (Youth Committee) and welcomed him to the Commission. 

ITEM 3 – Public Comment:  Jeanette Trujillo-Lucero spoke about the La Magia de Mexico that will be performed at the Arvada Center on July 18, and the Chili Harvest Festival scheduled at the Lakewood Heritage Center on August 29 and 30. 

John Fox spoke tendering his resignation from the Commission and presenting some suggestions for improving the Commission.  (Suggestions were sent to the Chair for further discussion with the Executive Committee.)

ITEM 4 – Approval of Minutes: Commission meeting minutes from June 17, 2009 were approved with correction of misspelled names. 

ITEM 5 – Correspondence:  A resignation letter from Bill Spriggs of the Diversity Education committee was read.  Resignation accepted with regret.

ITEM 6 – Guest Speaker:  Mike Rock, City Manager spoke.   Mr. Rock is retiring in September.  He discussed challenges facing the city in coming months and suggested that Commissioners could be of best service by taking time to know our community and taking time to participate as a positive voice for change.  He said his chief recommendation to Commissioners is to approach assignments keeping the broadest possible perspective.       

ITEM 7 – Committee Reports:

1.  PARKS, TRAILS AND OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE—Johann Cohen reported.  Next meeting will be at 6:30 pm on 8/5/09 at Lakewood Link Recreation Center.  There will be 2 guest speakers from Community Resources to discuss multi-use trails and the master plan creation/communication process.  The Environmental Committee and any interested Commissioners are invited to attend.
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2. PUBLIC ARTS COMMITTEE–Dianne Johnson reported.  The Committee continues to research art programs and financing of public art in other cities.  They anticipate presenting recommendation to the Commission in October.    Next committee meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on 8/4/09, at the Atlanta Bread Company.

3. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE—Kane McNeill reported.  The Environmental Committee met and discussed the “Meaning of Suitability” project they and the Business Committee have been jointly assigned.  They will finalize their report for presentation to Joni Inman and Councilman Peterson.  Next meeting 5 pm 8/5/09, Civic Center.

4.  HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE—Debra Hinsvark reported.  The Committee was assigned as the task force to look into locations for the Denver Interurban Railroad Trolley #25 and have had several meetings to discuss this assignment.   At Council request, they are looking first at Richey Park as a location.  Weekly meetings with City Staff continue at 6 pm Monday at Atlanta Bread.  They hope to have a report of sites prepared in August.  

5.  SENIOR COMMITTEE—Christy Herron reported.  The Committee received the draft study report jointly prepared by the Business/Senior Committees.  They will meet jointly on July 22 at 7 pm at the Carmody Rec Center.  The report is expected to be ready for the August Commission meeting.  Next meeting 5pm, 8/5/09 at Civic Center.   

6.  NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON COMMITTEE—Lorna Fox reported.  The Committee had no report this month.  Next meeting 8/5/09 at 6:30 pm at the Link Rec Center.

7. BUSINESS COMMITTEE—Jim Kinney reported.  A total of 9 Commissioners from the Committee met on June 24 to discuss the study related to connecting Lakewood seniors looking for employment or volunteer opportunities with Lakewood businesses (including the City) who have opportunities.  The draft report was distributed to members of both committees with comments requested by July 17.  The report will be finalized at the July 22 joint meeting with the Senior Committee to be ready for distribution at the Executive Committee meeting on August 12.  The “Meaning of Sustainability” assignment given to the Business and Environmental Committees for a joint response will be presented to Joni Inman on or about July 24.  Next meeting 6:30 pm July 29 at Carmody Rec Center

8. DIVERSITY EDUCATION (DE) COMMITTEE— Patricia Gaffney-Kindig reported.

• Patricia Gaffey-Kindig wrote Bill Spriggs thanking him for his work on that Committee.
• The proposal to address the graffiti issue assignment: researching what other cities are doing will be presented later to the full Commission.
• An event is being planned for fall similar to the Inclusiveness and Diversity Seminar held last September.  However a wider audience will be sought for the 2009 event.  Committee Chairs are requested to forward to Patricia a list of people or groups, which should be invited to the event.

9.  YOUTH COMMITTEE – Scott Raia reported. 

• The Committee met at the Starbucks at 1st and Wadsworth on July 1.  This will be the regular meeting place on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm.  Next meeting 8/5/09.   
• The Committee is working on a suggestion to incorporate the City of Lakewood’s course entitled Civics 101 into the Jeffco School District curriculum.  The proposal will suggest offering a quarter credit to high school students who complete the course. The Committee met with Dave Kollar of the School District to discuss the proposal.  Mr. Kollar will discuss the idea with Green Mountain High School principal to see if GMHS would be the best place to test this program.  They plan to submit a report to the Executive Committee in August.
• The Committee was given a new assignment to consider whether the City of Lakewood should adopt an ordinance that would prohibit possession of tobacco by those under age 18.  They have been asked to look at current State law, research what other communities do, consider impacts on the Police Department, enforcement issues, and Municipal Court options to make a recommendation.  They will attend the Council Study Session of July 20 where this issue will be discussed.

ITEM 8 –Proposal:  The Diversity Education Committee’s proposal was presented.  Coordinator Erma Steck reviewed the process whereby this project evolved from a Council assignment into a Committee initiative.  Patricia Gaffney-Kindig presented the proposal recommending that the City look into developing a program following the successful model of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network (PAGN).   That program combines three efforts:  the Graffiti Abatement Team; the Paint Voucher Program and the Mural Arts Program.  The committee further recommends that the Youth Committee be involved in this effort through its dialogue with students and that the City consider including this topic in discussions regarding murals on RTD Sound Walls.   After discussion, the proposal was approved for submission to Council Officers.

ITEM 9 – Old Business:  Chair, Karen Harrison encouraged all Commissioners to attend Ward meetings.   Theron Bell and Johann Cohn attended the Ward 3 meeting.

ITEM 10 – New Business: Chair, Karen Harrison spoke of National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4 as an opportunity for all of us to move into our front yards to meet and talk with our neighbors.

ITEM 11 – Commissioner Spotlight: Patricia Gaffney-Kindig and Deb Hinsvark agreed to postpone their Spotlight moments until next month in view of the time. 

ITEM 12 – Advisor/Coordinator Report: Erma Steck provided information on “Consumer Safety and Awareness Day” on 8/1/09 from 8 am to noon presented by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office at Red Rocks Community College.

ITEM 13 – Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Submitted by Lorna Fox, Secretary.

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