GREATER DES MOINES SISTER CITIES COMMISSION 400 Robert D. Ray Drive Des Moines, Iowa 50309-1891 Phone: (515) 283-4141 FAX: (515) 237-1300 NEXT MEETING August 11, 2015, AT 5:00 P.M. KOFU CONFERENCE ROOM, DES MOINES CITY HALL MINUTES July 21, 2015 Members Present: Members Absent: Staff Present: Dave Bair, Darlene Blake, Kerry Bowen, Heather Carman, Mark Daly, Roger Nowadzky, Ginny Renda, Sam Reno, Vidal Spaine, Tim Woods Tom Becker, Pat Civitate, Kevin Geiken Teresa Branaman On Tuesday, July 21, 2015, Chairperson Ms. Blake called the meeting of the Greater Des Moines Sister Cities Commission to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Kofu Conference Room, Des Moines City Hall. MINUTES Minutes for the June 9 and June 21, 2015 meetings were discussed. Motion was made to approve the minutes by Mr. Nowadzky and seconded by Mr. Woods. Motion carried. FINANCIAL REPORT An itemized Financial Report for July 1, 2014 June 30, 2015 was distributed, indicating expenses of $72.30 for April and May Summary Minutes in the Business Record. Mr. Nowadzky moved to approve the Financial Report as presented and Ms. Renda seconded the motion. Motion carried. COMMISSION CHAIR REPORT Ms. Blake shared the article from the Des Moines Register showcasing pictures from Bastille Day. Ms. Blake appointed a committee consisting of Mr. Bair, Ms. Bowen, Mr. Nowadzky, and Ms. Renda to review Operating Rules for changes. COMMISSION VICE CHAIRPERSON REPORT Mr. Nowadzky reported the Shijiazhuang Committee continues to work tirelessly to plan for the upcoming Shijiazhuang delegation. The community involvement and composition of the committee is a model upon which we should use in revitalizing, energizing, and fine-tuning our sister city relationships, by maximizing use of the talents of our greater Des Moines community, and leveraging the abilities and connections of our Commissioners and our Commission City Chairs. Mr. Nowadzky also shared that as Vice-Chair of the Saint-Etienne Committee along with Dave Bair would like to thank the Commissioners who attended our Bastille Day Community celebration and those who helped in the preparation and clean-up of Birdland Park Shelter House. Mr. Nowadzky indicated the Commission needs to acknowledge our pleasure and appreciation in working so closely with Alliance Française of Central Iowa, and their board and volunteers. Alliance was instrumental in the Des Moines Saint-Etienne 20 th anniversary celebration, and here they are again. Our involvement and overlap of interests makes them a valuable partner in our Saint-Etienne relationship. Mr. Nowadzky
Page 2 believes we can also be a valuable partner in promoting the appreciation of the French language and culture in the greater Des Moines community. In this regard, we have sister city relationships in the most interesting of places in the world and our sister cities can be gateways for cultural appreciation, and for community and economic development. Saint-Etienne is such a gateway place and opportunity, in addition to being a special place in itself. Also, this strategic partnership can be a model for our other sister city committees who may have difficulties in keeping our cultural connections alive with communities with whom we have had infrequent face-to-face official delegations. Mr. Nowadzky shared that the Saint-Etienne Committee sees other opportunities this year to again partner with Alliance and believes this is reinforced by this very successful Bastille Day celebration. Mr. Nowadzky also shared that the Commission Chair and himself discussed with our Mayor about some face-to-face contact with Saint-Etienne officials in France, possibly later this year. This is a matter we will actively explore and pursue. COMMITTEE REPORTS Stavropol, Russia Vidal Spaine Mr. Spaine reported that he met with Mr. Matt Smith of the Des Moines Public Schools to receive changes to the Memorandum of Understanding between Des Moines Public Schools and Stavropol City Administration that was submitted to them by the Commission. Mr. Smith shared that they had added a few minor changes and a disclaimer after consulting with their lawyer. Mr. Spaine shared the revised Memorandum of Understanding with the Commission and indicated he will need to get signatures on the memorandum and then submit it to Stavropol. Mr. Woods made a motion that the Commission supports the Memorandum of Understanding between Des Moines Public Schools and Stavropol City Administration. Mr. Nowadzky seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mr. Spaine reported that Stavropol has sent an invitation to participate in the celebration of Stavropol Day to take place September 15-16, 2015. Mr. Spaine shared that it would be a good idea if we could send a small delegation to this event. Mr. Spaine indicated that in the course of the Day of Stavropol and Day of Stavropol territory celebration, Stavropol City Administration will hold an international exhibition of children s drawings, The World Through Children s Eyes. In this regard, they have invited the students of the schools of sister city Des Moines to participate. Mailing information and regulations are attached. Mr. Bair made a motion to have Mr. Daly investigate the possibility of attending the Stavropol Day on behalf of the Commission with funding from Grandview and the Commission. Mr. Daly should present a budget at the next meeting. Motion seconded by Mr. Spaine. Motion carried. Shijiazhuang, China Tim Woods, Ginny Renda, Sam Reno Mr. Woods indicated an email was received July 20 th which indicated the delegation from Shijiazhuang will not be able to visit until the end of September. It is speculated their arrival will coincide with the rumored visit by President Ji. Mr. Woods reported the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines has established an account for this event in accordance with the recommendation of Des Moines City Council and City Manager s Office. An Agreement which will be signed by both parties during the delegation s visit has been developed and will need to be sent to Shijiazhuang for approval. The Shijiazhuang Committee has a framework scaled to the events actual timing.
Page 3 Mr. Nowadzky moved to authorize the Shijiazhuang Committee to spend up to $3,000 for expenditures related to the Shijiazhuang celebration. Motion seconded by Mr. Bair. Motion carried. Mr. Nowadzky moved that the Commission approve signing of the acknowledgement of the agreement we have with the Community Foundation Des Moines Fund for the purposes of Shijiazhuang planning activities and anything left over will go back to the Commission. Ms. Bowen seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mr. Woods moved to send the Sister City Agreement drafted for Shijiazhuang to the City Manager s Office for approval, then for furtherance to Shijiazhuang. Motion seconded by Mr. Nowadzky. Motion carried. Saint-Etienne, France Dave Bair, Roger Nowadzky Mr. Nowadzky reported the Saint-Etienne Committee, in collaboration with Alliance Française of Central Iowa and involving other international or cultural groups including the Friendship Force and the Union des Français de l'etranger et du Midwest, helped plan, organize and carry-out the community Bastille Day celebration that took place on July 14 th and believes all will agree that it was a big success. The informal count of attendees numbered over 100. Dignitaries who attended the event included Des Moines Mayor Cownie; the Honorary Counsel to France, Mark Schlenker; and Des Moines City Councilman Bob Mahaffey. There was also a photographer from the Des Moines Register covering the event. Two pages of photographs of the celebration were printed in the July 17 th Des Moines Register. A special ceremony commemorating the 30 year relationship between Des Moines and Saint-Etienne, France was held during the celebration. Mayor Cownie gave some very nice remarks and presented a mayoral proclamation commemorating this year s 30 th anniversary and declaring the day Saint-Etienne day in Des Moines. Food provided by Alliance included master-grilled 25 pounds of pork loin, 75 baguettes from La Mie, French cheese, and an assortment of side dishes ranging from Gougère (French cheese puffs) to crepes in bechamel (white) sauce and mushrooms, and an assortment of appetizers and desserts brought by party attendees. Mary Moermond won the prize for the best French dish for her ratatouille, but there were many strong contenders. Ms. Moermond happens to be the Johnston High School French language teacher who hand-delivered the letter from Mayor Cownie and the Commission to the city administration of Saint-Etienne in March 2015. The Des Moines Saint-Etienne anniversary cake was so beautiful that hungry attendees were reluctant to cut the cake to have the first piece. Celebration activities included a hard-fought pétanque (lawn bowling) tournament and an accordionist who added to the ambiance with a playlist ranging from Auprès De Ma Blonde to La Vie En Rose and everything in between. The event was so lovely and attendees were so engaged in socializing and connecting that a French sing-along and French dancing activities (which had been planned) did not take place. Mr. Nowadzky also reported that the Saint-Etienne Committee sees other opportunities this year to again partner with Alliance, and the thought is reinforced by this very successful Bastille Day celebration. Kofu, Japan Kevin Geiken, Heather Carman Mr. Spaine shared that he will be traveling to Kofu, and will be presenting a letter from Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie and Commission Chairperson Ms. Blake to the Mayor of Kofu. The letter will also be translated into Japanese and recognizes the 57 years of Sister City relationship and includes an invitation to begin thinking about how to celebrate our 60 th anniversary. Catanzaro, Italy Pat Civitate No Report at this time.
Page 4 Festival Mark Daly Italian American Heritage Festival of Iowa July 24-25, 2015 Mr. Daly discussed the sign up for the Italian American Heritage Festival of Iowa booth. FRIENDS OF SISTER CITIES Information and application will be gathered for 501c3 discussion at the next meeting. NEW BUSINESS Commission Vacancies/Quorum Ms. Blake requested a list of open applications for commissioners to review for the August meeting. Mr. Nowadzky moved to retroactively approve action taken at previous Commission meetings where quorum was not met. Ms. Carmen seconded the motion. Motion carried. Commission Structuring of Sub-Committees Ms. Blake appointed Mr. Reno to Chair of Budget Sub-Committee and to choose his committee. Website Discussion To be discussed at the August meeting. OLD BUSINESS None at this time. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Reno and seconded by Ms. Blake. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be August 11, 2015, in the Kofu Conference Room, Des Moines City Hall.
REGULATION on International exhibition of children's drawings "The World Through Children's Eyes" 1. General Regulation 1.1. This Regulation defines the procedure of holding of the International Exhibition of Children's Drawings "The World Through Children's Eyes" (the Exhibition). The event is timed to the Day of Stavropol and the Day of Stavropol Territory. 1.2. Stavropol city administration is the organizer of the Exhibition. 1.3. Goals of the Exhibition: - support and development of children's art creativity; - development of the international cooperation. 1.4. Objectives of the Exhibition: - promotion of creative activity of school-age children; - introduction of children to the culture values; - promotion of a peaceful lifestyle; - education of children to love art and beauty; - discovering and support of talented students in the field of art creativity. 2. Participants of the Exhibition Participants of the Exhibition: students of art schools of Stavropol sister cities aged from 7 to 18 years. 3. The Exhibition Holding Conditions 3.1. Works should be submitted in the A3 size. 3.2. The label with the information is to be fastened to each work: - surname, name of the author; - age of the author; - place of residence; - the name of the school; - surname, name of the teacher; - name of the work; - name of the work s technique. 3.3. Only one work is accepted from each participant. 3.4. No more than ten works are accepted from each sister city. 3.5. Works aren't accepted to the Exhibition if they: - don't correspond to the theme of the exhibition; - don t meet the above mentioned requirements. 3.6. Receipt of the works to the exhibition is regarded as consent of the authors to their possible full or partial publication with copyright compliance. Mail entry to: International and Interregional Relations Department Stavropol City Administration 96, Karl Marx Avenue, Stavropol, Russia, 355035