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minutes Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM January 17, 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Eric Melendez, Pat Elliot and Craig Osten. Our Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl is in Costa Rica, encountering minor(?) earthquakes and warm weather. Minutes of the November 15th meeting were approved. The treasurer reported that as of 12/31/2012 we had $4095.55. The possibility of acquiring a sculpture for Heredia Park was discussed. The Arts Commission did receive some discretionary funds but they are pretty well used up. Obtaining funding thru the Richfield Foundation if needed was suggested. It is our understanding that a plaque similar to the one in Heredia was approved as part of the City Hall plans. Pat will inquire. The commission will send a letter thanking Cynthy regarding donations for the school in Vera Blanca. She has been generous in supporting the mission of Richfield's Friendship City. There will be one new member in 2013. We also would like to thank Craig Osten for his efforts with the commission. Pat Elliot indicated that Mayor Goettel will be the new city liaison. He suggested the commission maintain it's focus on Heredia as our Friendship City but also broaden our scope to include reaching out to the local Hispanic culture, perhaps working with the Dual Language School or seeking other opportunities. He and Mayor Goettel will try to attend our next meeting to brainstorm possibilities. The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be February 21 St Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM February 21, 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, City Councilman Pat Elliot and Mayor Debbie Goettel. Eric Melendez was excused. Rori Coleman-Woods was welcomed as our new commission member. Our Friendship City Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl, is in Costa Rica. Minutes of the January 17th meeting were approved. There was no treasurer report, as of 12/31/2012 we had $4095.55. Officers were elected as follows: Roger Swanson..Chairman Rori Coleman-Woods..Treasurer Dave Delzer..Vice Chairman/ Secretary The plaque for Heredia Park was discussed. It is our understanding that a plaque similar to the one in Heredia was approved as part of the City Hall plans. The commission has sent a letter thanking Cynthy regarding donations for . _ _ _ __ the school in Vera Blanca. She has been generous in supporting the mission of Richfield's Friendship City. We discussed how best to maintain our focus on Heredia as our Friendship City but to also broaden our scope to include reaching out to the local Hispanic culture. The commission charter may need to be expanded to include this outreach. We were informed Richfield residents include approximately 20% Latino but the young folks in our schools are almost 50% minority. Opportunities to build bridges include working with the Dual Language School, church groups, local merchants and others. Efforts will be made to contact Masda at the Dual Language School and Amy Dusek from South Hennepin. Pennfest (Sept 15tn), 4tn of July and other events we might participate in to heighten our visibility were discussed. The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be March 21,2013. Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM March 21, 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Mayor Debbie Goettel, Eric Melendez and Rori Coleman-Woods. The commission has six vacancies. Our Friendship City Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl, is in Costa Rica. Minutes of the February 21 St meeting were approved. There was no treasurer report, as of 12/31/2012 we had $4095.55. We need to get the checks from Craig Osten and commission officers need to sign at RBCU. The plaque for Heredia Park was discussed. It is our understanding that a plaque similar to the one in Heredia was approved as part of the City Hall plans. Cheryl Krumholz will be asked to make a copy of the print Roger has of the one we gave Heredia. We discussed how best to maintain our focus on Heredia as our Friendship City but to also broaden our scope to include reaching out to the local Hispanic culture. The commission charter may need to be expanded to include this outreach. Mayor Goettel will check out the charter review. Contacts will be made regarding the July 2°d bingo games. Pennfest (Sept 15tn), 4tn of July and other events we might participate in to heighten our visibility were discussed. Amy Dusek has been contacted and Dave will attend the "Unity in the Community" meeting Monday to see how we can best become involved in the May 16t" event at Veteran's Park. > The Organized Garbage Collection meeting March 23rd was announced. Richfield residents are encouraged to provide input. The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be April 18,2013. Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM April 18, 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer and Eric Melendez. Rori Coleman-Woods was excused because of the snow storm. Our Friendship City Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl, is in Costa Rica. The commission has six vacancies. Minutes of the March 21 St meeting were approved. Roger Swanson indicated we have $4076.59 in our treasury. Updates of activities in Heredia were covered. Mayor emeritus Marty Kirsch visited in Heredia for 14 days in March. He stayed with Cynthy and Ken Mandl , meeting with Tico friends including many who have been involved with Friendship City activities. We are waiting to hear regarding progress in Richfield Park. There is interest regarding outdoor exercise equipment for use by seniors in parks. This equipment may well be adaptable for use in our parks. Mary Olafson, a past city commission member, is to visit Costa Rica in the near future and will bring back information regarding this equipment. The sculptor, Guillermo Hernandez Gonzalez, who provided Alianza for Kirchbak Gardens (see Richfield Public Art Tour, presented by the Arts Commission) is waiting to hear from us regarding the sculpture he has offered to do. It is a feature that the commission anticipates would fit very nicely in the open space between City Hall and Heredia Park. The Arts Commission has indicated their support. A motion was made and approved to provide funds to replace the tattered flag flying at the nursing home visited in Heredia in 1996. It was the first such center to be established in Costa Rica; it is good if we can support them in some small way. The young men from the soccer team that visited Richfield in 1994 is wanting to have a reunion. They are considering coming to Richfield for this. The scheduling of a group visiting Costa Rica was discussed with and projected for early in 2015. We hope the Heredia soccer group or others from there might also come visit us here soon. Dave Delzer attended two meetings of the "Unity in the Community" committee. They are reaching out to different ethnic groups and will have performers and activities at Veteran's Park May 16th. We will set up a display and give away free Costa Rican coffee. Hopefully we can be involved with something similar at Pennfest next fall. The plaque for Heredia Park was discussed. It is our understanding that a plaque similar to the one in Heredia was approved as part of the City Hall plans. Cheryl Krumholz has made a copy of the print Roger has of the plaque we gave Heredia. This plaque stands on a pedestal next to Heredia's sculpture of Alianza in Boulevard Richfield near the center of the city of Heredia. Roger has obtained the file establishing the charter for our commission. It will be reviewed and discussed at our next meeting. The meeting was adj ourned. The next meeting will be June 13th, 2013. Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair � Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM July 18, 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer and Eric Melendez. Rori Coleman-Woods was excused because she had to work. There were no guests. Our Friendship City Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl, is in Costa Rica. The commission has six vacancies. Minutes of the April 18th meeting were approved. Roger Swanson indicated our CD is at $1082.04 and that our treasury has not changed much. We had $4076.59 in April. Updates of activities in Heredia were covered. Mayor emeritus Marty Kirsch visited in Heredia in March. Mary Olafson, a past city commission member has visited Costa Rica. We are hoping to hear from her soon. We have invited Andrea Sollie, who went with the fifth graders from the Dual Language school that went to Costa Rica in June, to attend our August meeting. We will look forward to hearing about their trip. The sculptor, Guillermo Hernandez Gonzalez, who provided Alianza for Kirchbak Gardens (see Richfield Public Art Tour, presented by the Arts Commission) is waiting to hear from us regarding the sculpture he has offered to do. It is a feature that the commission anticipates would fit very nicely in the open space between City Hall and Heredia Park. The Arts Commission has indicated their support. Funds will need to be solicited once we find out what the costs will be. � The "Unity in the Community" event May 16th went well. There were different ethnic groups with performers and activities at Veteran's Park. We set up a display and gave away 60 cups each of Costa Rican coffee and hot chocolate. Hopefully we can be involved with something similar at Penn Fest next fall. Dave will contact them. The next meeting will be August 1 Sth, 2013. Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair Richfield Friendsl�ip City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM August 15, 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Rori Coleman-Woods, Eric Melendez and our Friendship City Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl. Guests included Andrea Sollie and members of five families who had traveled to Costa Rica on a a tour organized for students finishing the fifth grade at the Dual Language School. Seven students and their chaperones had spent 8 days there. They reported on their activities and the things they learned on their trip. Minutes of the Julyl8th meeting were approved. No change to the treasury. There will be a meeting with Jim Topitzhofer to discuss senior exercise equipment and to discuss the offer regarding the sculpture. Rori, Dave and Eric will be available for Pennfest, September 15th. Dave will order coffee to be given away. Eric will see if we can use his neighbor's canopy. We will need an activity for people to be involved in. We will work out details at our next meeting September 12th, 2013. Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM September 12, 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson in the Babcock Room. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Rori Coleman-Woods and Eric Melendez. Minutes will be acted on at our next meeting. No change to the treasury. There was a meeting with Roger, Cynthy and Jim Topitzhofer to discuss senior exercise equipment such as that being used in Heredia parks and to discuss the offer regarding the sculpture. He is familiar with the senior exercise equipment and is considering it if a need is perceived. Indications are the sculpture could possibly be a youth with a soccer ball. We need a donor for the sculptor's fee. The city will pay up to $3000 for shipping. Rori, Dave and Eric will be available for Pennfest, September 15th. We will call Ahmed Ansari to see if he can help us. Dave will ask others who might help. Roger and Dave have gotten the coffee pots and other material from our storage in the Public Works building. Dave will use the coffee he ordered to make coffee to be given away. He will borrow a coffee urn from the KC Hall. We will use Eric's neighbor's canopy. Roger and Rori have tables we can use. There will be oxcart pictures for the young folks to color and keep. Dave will use his pickup to bring the coffee, canopy, tables and etc. We will set up at 72°d and Penn. Penn will be closed off after 11:20 AM and we need to be set up by noon. The event will last till 5 PM. Penn Ave will reopen at 5:30 PM. The Annual Report to the City Council will be October 22na by our Chairrnan, Roger Swanson. Our next meeting will be October 17tn Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair !i C����� ����� Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM October 17; 2013 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Rori Coleman-Woods and Eric Melendez. Ahmad Ansari was introduced as a new member. Some of us had met him as he helped at Pennfest. It is good to have a new member. Guests included De'sean Benik & Elena Born. Minutes for August 15 and September 12 were approved. Rori reported no change to the treasury. Dave presented a bill for coffee for Pennfest. Roger gave an update of news from Heredia via our Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl. There is activity regarding work on the plaza at Richfield Park in Heredia, perhaps encouraged by the new condo's going in next to the park. The 1993/94 Soccer Team that participated in Blaine that year is organizing a reunion, either here or there. There has been a significant changeover in membership of our Arts Commission; nothing new regarding the sculpture. Note: The city of Richfield will be reminded to put up Heredia Park signs. Rori, Dave and Eric were available for Pennfest, September 15th. We did call Ahmad Ansari and he came to help us. Linda Zacher also came to help. We will send letters of appreciation to her and to Eric's neighbor Brandon Clay who lent us his canopy. Roger and Dave had gotten the coffee pots and other material from our storage in the Public Works building. Dave used his pickup to bring the coffee, canopy, tables and etc. Eric's Dad Brian helped us set up the canopy. We set up at 72"d and Penn. Dave used the coffee he ordered to make coffee to be given away. He borrowed a coffee urn from the KC Hall because power was not available. It kept our coffee hot. We had just enough. There were oxcart pictures for the young folks to color and keep. Rori's two boys ground coffee beans to show how it was done. The Annual Report to the City Council will be October 22"d . Our next meeting will be November 12th. Respectfully Submitted David Delzer, Vice Chair RICHFIELD FRIENDSHIP CIIY COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT - 2013 Richfield Friendship City Commission has had a relationship with our friendship city Heredia, Costa Rica for 23 years. We are pleased to have two additional members to the commission who have already made a difference. Richfield's ambassador to Heredia, Cynthy Mandl, will be returning from her 2 year stay in country with her husband mid January. We have missed them. What we have been involved with this year was: - Unity in the Community - Pennfest Giving out free Costa Rican coffee and talking to many in our community. We got some direction as to a possible new sculpture from the sculptor Guillermo Hernandez who sculpted 'Alianza' that is in Bakin park. We were advising, helping with contacts with a group of fifth graders from Richfield's Dual Language School and parents who traveled to Costa Rica in June. We are working with Parks people to put signage in Heredia Park which are missing. Also the oxcart by the Heredia room is getting too much sun and is drying out and needs to be move to another location or something should be done to shade it. In Heredia, a park is be planned to be named "Richfield Park" one block away from the family I stayed with, in my visit in 2011. Also in 1994 a Heredia soccer team came up to Minnesota for an international Schwan's soccer tournament. Next year they are having their 20th reunion either in Costa Rica or possibly in Richfield. It is with great hope that the commission would sponsor a trip to visit Costa Rica in the spring of 2015. Many things have to come together to make it all happen. When the trip is determined, then we will solicit those interested to travel. Thanks, Roger Swanson Chair FCC