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Minutes Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes Richfield Municipal Building—Heredia Room 7:00 PM February 19, 2014 Attendance:Tenzin Dolkar, Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Eric Melendez, Cynthy Mandl, Mary Olafson, Rori Woods,Ahmad Ansari, Mary Christenson and Patricia Pixler Welcome new commission members: Mary Christen5on and Patricia Pixler Meeting Minutes: January 15th, 2015 minutes approved Treasurer's report: Total balance$5,458.91. $103 expense for printing the brochure was submitted. Annual Election of Officers 2015: Chair Ahmad Ansari, Co-Chair Rori Woods,Treasurer Roger Swanson, Secretary Mary Olafson, Historian Cynthy Mandl and Co-Historian Dave Delzer February 18th New Commission member Orientation Meeting was attended by Mary Christenson, Roger Swanson, and Patricia Pixler Heredia updates: Sculpture discussion: A child (young girf) playing soccer sculpture made with a resin mix of bronze and powder would be cost effective to make and ship. Parks and Recreation will likely cover the cost of the base of the sculpture. A project proposal will have to be presented to the City Council for approval because the sculpture will be located at the Municipal Center on the landscape outside of the Heredia conference room windows. A budget must be composed by the commission and be approved by the City Council too. Old Business: The $500 allotment from the city is still in discussion. New Business: Adopt-A-Tree thank you letters should be composed and sent soon.The RFCC brochure will be availab{e at the library and community center. Trip to Heredia,Costa Rica—2016: Cynthy is looking into pricing and thinks it might cost(including airfare) between $1,799-$2,000 for 12- 15 days Adjourn—8:25pm - Next meeting on April 16tn Respectfully submitted by: Mary Olafson, Secretary RFCC Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM August 21 St, 2014 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson in the Heredia Room. Those present were Roger Swanson, Ahmad Ansari, Rori Coleman-Woods, Dave Delzer and Cynthy Mandl. Minutes will be acted on at our next meeting. Treasurer's report $2,923.62 in checking and savings. Joining us as a visitor today was Andy Wigg from the Sun Current reporting on the Heredia relationship, our Richfield Ambassador Cynthy Mandl will be celebrating a 24 year relationship with Heredia established in 1991. Sculpture project update, there will be no city funds set aside for the park sculpture and will be further investigated. Richfield Park in Heredia update, and Adopt a tree campaign is in the works, where families can adopt a tree or a flower bed as a way to forge a relationship between Heredia families and Richfield families. It is thought that those dollars may be able to be matched with our environmental connections in Heredia. The Adopt A Tree campaign is still pending an approval from the city attorney on the tax deductible donation, and whether we can provide a letter on city letterhead of the tax deductible donation. Our target area for the campaign, would be former Richfield tour go-ers, Penn Fest, RDLS former host families and more. This would be a way for there to be a memoriam, and everlasting relationship in someone's name or honor. Banner has been ordered for PennFest through Fastsigns, its yellow with Red lettering. Eric Melendez was excused from the meeting however, we want to ask his neighbor if he would allow us to use his canopy. Items discussed for the display at PennFest, Heredia Flag, Soccer jerseys, Soccer net with activity, and suckers or tootsie pops for the kids. The annual report is in October and Roger is considering the next year report as he will have termed out. Future trip discussion appears to be March of 2016. Next scheduled meeting is September 18t", 2014. Respectfully Submitted Rori Coleman-Woods-Treasurer Richfield Friendship City Commission Heredia Room, Richfield Municipal Building Meeting Minutes 7:00 PM January 15, 2015 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Ahmad Ansari, Dave Delzer, Eric Melendez, and our Friendship City Ambassador, Cynthy Mandl. Rori Coleman-Woods, Mary Olafson, and Tenzin Dolkar were excused. Meeting Minutes for December 20th were approved as corrected. The treasurer's report was given; there is $5408.77with $1575 in donations. Donations for Parque Richfield include $1500 from Marty Kirsch(for a specific project) and $75 from others. We need to do more to encourage people to donate. Ways of doing that were discussed. Cynthy Mandl gave an update on items regarding Heredia. She is working to obtain a written proposal including costs and shipping considerations regarding the sculpture for our Heredia Park. The artist is donating his services but casting is expensive. He recommended using a resin with bronze powder that he could work with in his studio. The cost would be approximately $1000. Shipping would be extra. Cynthy has been working with Jim Topizhofer, who is in charge of our parks, and with Kevin Klos of the Arts Commission. The written proposal would have to be presented to the City Council for their approval. The proposal would also be used to obtain reimbursement from the City and/or use to solicit help from donors. The Richfield Rotary Foundation and the Richfield Foundation are two possible sources. We will need to coordinate our efforts with the Arts Commission as well. Our next trip to Costa Rica is tentatively scheduled for March 201�. Our next meeting will be February 19th, 2015. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, David Delzer Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes Richfield Municipal Building—Heredia Room 7:00 PM March 19,2015 Attendance: Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Cynthy Mandl, Mary 0lafson, Rori Woods,Ahmad Ansari, Mary Christenson and Marty Kirsch Excused Members: Patricia Pixler, Eric Melendez and Tenzin Dolkar Welcome new commission member: Marty Kirsch Welcome Visitor:JoAnn Boraas Meeting Minutes: February 19,2015 minutes approved Treasurer's report: Total balance $5,355.71 as of 2/27/2015 statement Heredia updates: Sculpture updates: We will be getting the weight and dimensions for shipping sometime this week. Ahmand will check with Delta airlines about shipping costs. Richfield Park: Fundraising is tabled for now. Andrew Wig of the Sun Current is interested in doing a story. Adopt a Tree donation letters are now available and distributed. Old Business: The$500 allotment from the city is still in discussion. New Business: We have not heard about the Unity in the Community event yet. Commission Bylaws were distributed to the members for review. Ahmad led the discussion on the best time in the year to give our annual report to City Council. Our members thought October was a good time to present because it would follow the Penn Fest event. Trip to Heredia,Costa Rica—2016: � Cynthy is looking into pricing. The first half of March is a good to time go. It will be a 12-15 day trip with approximately 16-18 people. We will advertise for participants. Adjourn—8:15pm - Next meeting on April 16tn Respectfully submitted by: Mary Olafson,Secretary RFCC Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes Richfield Municipal Building—Heredia Room 7:00 PM April 16th, 2015 Attendance: Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer,Cynthy Mandl, Mary Olafson, Rori Woods,Ahmad Ansari, Mary Christenson,Tenzin Dolkar, Patricia Pixler Excused Members: Eric Melendez, Marty Kirsch Welcome Visitor: JoAnn Boraas Meeting Minutes: March 19th,2015 minutes approved with one correction 7reasurer's report: Total balance$5,356.51 as of 3/31/2015 statement Heredia updates: Sculpture updates: Approximate cost$3,000 which includes artist materials (bronze powder and resin), padding for shipping,crate,all transportation costs and fees. Costa Rica has many transportation fees. Richfield Park: Tabled for now. Old Business: JoAnn Boraas has applied for a position on the commission. No more updates on the$500 ailotment from the city. Unity in the Community will be in September. Discussed having city liaison meet with our commission in May. Commission By Laws will be reviewed. New Business: We are going to try to locate the Richfield Heredia Park sign. It hasn't been seen since the new municipal building opened. Rori placed a motion(and was approved by the committee)to purchase T-shirts to wear at events. She wiil research pricing and style and report back to commission. Trip to Heredia,Costa Rica—2016: Tentative date for the trip is March 2-14,2016. Pricing is still being researched. Adjourn—8:15pm - Next meeting on May 21st Respectfully submitted by: Mary Olafson,Secretary RFCC Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes Richfield Municipal Buit�ding—Heredia Room 7:00 PM May 21st, 2015 Attendance: Roger Swanson, Mary Olafson, Ahmad Ansari, Mary Christenson,Tenzin Dolkar, Patricia Pixler, Marty Kirsch Welcome visitor: Janet Coleman Excused Members: Eric Melendez, Cynthy Mandl, Dave Delzer, Rori Woods, JoAnn Boraas Meeting Minutes: April 16, 2015 minutes approved with corrections Treasurer's report: Total balance$5,356.64 as of 4/30/2015 statement Heredia : Sculpture updates: No updates Richfield Park: No updates Old Business: The City of Richfield is changing its logo which will impact City Park's signs. No timeline on when the signs will be changed. The Costa Rica trip will be March 2"d to the 14t"2016. Cynthy is still researching airfare prices. New Business: Ahmad, Cynthy and Roger met with Assistant City Manager, Pam Dmytrenko, and the City Finance Manager, Legal Counsel and Administrative staff to clarify the budget allotment and financial status of the commission. The budget allotment from the city of$500.00 can be used as a line item for events we sponsor. We need to change our Tax status to an Organizational Agency Commission ID in order to relieve the financial responsibility of the City. Roger will handle the registration and change/update the bank account with the new Tax ID number. The Commission by Laws is out of date and a committee will be established to review and revise them. Tenzin will look into changing the Facebook page so it can be linked to City of Richfield's website. T-shirts pricing and colors were discussed. Since Rory and Cynthy could not attend the meeting. There are no updates at this time. Adjourn—8:OOpm - Next meeting on June 18tn Respectfully submitted by: Mary Olafson,Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes Richfield Municipal Building—Heredia Room 7:00 PM June 18th, 2015 Attendance: Mary Olafson,Ahmad Ansari, Mary Christenson, Patricia Pixier, Cynthy Mandl, Rori Woods Excused Members: Eric Melendez, Dave Deizer,JoAnn Boraas, Roger Swanson,Tenzin Dolkar, Marty Kirsch Treasurer's report: No report Heredia: Sculpture updates: Design has been determined Richfield Park: No updates Old Business: Bank account/commission entity—no updates Heredia Park sign—no updates Commission Bylaws and Facebook—on hold The Costa Rica trip will be March 2"d to the 14th 2016. Cynthy outlined the highlights of the trip: . Trip to the rain forest-Selva Verde lodge . Birding boat ride . Arenal Volcano and lodge stay of two nights • Tours of Pineapple orchard . Chocolate farm tour . The day of the Ox Cart parade New Business: Unity in the community—September 17th, 2015 Penn Fest—September 20`h, 2015 Annual report will be presented to the city council-October 27th,2015 Commission member t-shirts should be available by September Adjourn—8:OOpm - Next meeting on July 16tn Respectfully submitted by: Mary Olafson,Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes Richfield Municipal Building—Heredia Room 7:00 PM July 16th, 2015 Attendance: Mary Olafson,Ahmad Ansari, Mary Christenson, Patricia Pixler, Rori Woods, Marty Kirsch, Dave Delzer,JoAnn Boraas, Roger Swanson Excused Members: Eric Melendez,Tenzin Dolkar,Cynthy Mandl Treasurer's report: $5,357.58 as of 6/30/2015 statement Heredia: Sculpture updates: No updates Richfield Park: No updates Old Business: Bank account/commission entity—application for the federal id has been filed. Heredia Park sign—the city logo is being redesigned Commission Bylaws and Facebook—city staff will be setting up a committee to review all city commissions' Bylaws. Tenzin is out and so no updates on Facebook account information. Costa Rica trip (March 2"d to the 14th 2016) planning is almost complete New Business: Unity in the community—September 17th, 2015 Penn Fest—September 20t", 2015—Dave will order additional coffee and hot chocolate we can serve at events. Annual report will be presented to the city council -October 27`", 2015 Commission member t-shirts should be available by September Marty Kirsch made a motion to purchase a tent to use at city events we participate in. Motion approved. Adjourn—8:OOpm - Next meeting on August 20th Respectfully submitted by: Mary Olafson, Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7 PM August 20, 2015 The meeting was called to order by Mary Olafson, Secretary. Those present were Marty Kirsch, Cynthy Mandl,Roger Swanson, Mary Olafson, Dave Delzer,JoAnn Boraas, Pat Pixler and Mary Christenson. Excused were Ahmad Ansari, Rori Coleman-Woods, Eric Melendez and Tenzin Dolkar. Minutes of the July 16t" meeting were approved as corrected.The treasurer gave us a report for June and July. We have $5357.72 as of July 31st. Updates: Cynthy reported that the artist working on the sculpture had surgery July 9th. He has been restricted since then and is not recovering very fast. Cynthy will call Jim Topizthofer and let him know. Cynthy also gave in detail the itinerary and others details regarding the Costa Rica Tour scheduled for March 2-14, 2016. She is preparing brochures to have at the Unity in the Community and Pennfest events in September and will share the same information via e-mail for those she can contact that way. The status of Richfield Park in Heredia is pretty much the same. It will be promoted as we promote the tour. JoAnn Boraas was asked to provide Certificates of Appreciation for departing youth members, Eric Melendez and Tenzin Dolkar. The commission is anticipating the use of an allotment the Council has provided for use at events such as the ones in September,("Unity in the Community" Sept 17 and 'Pennfest' Sept 20) including the purchase of a tent shelter,the purchase of coffee and chocolate and the purchase of t-shirts to identify members. Marty made the motion for Roger to purchase the more substantial shelter. Dave passed around Fair Trade coffee that he had purchased from the "Seeds of Change" organization promoting research at Finca La Anita. One of our Richfield high school youths did participate in this research. Rori was not available to explain the t-shirt design but we anticipate purchasing them when we get a little more info. The printing of brochures was approved. Roger reported we now have a different IRS# and those needing to sign checks need to meet at RBCU to get signed up. The meeting was adjourned. Next meeting Oct 15tn Respectfully submitted, by Dave Delzer for Mary Olafson. Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes 7 PM October 15th, 2015 The meeting was called to order by Ahmad Ansari. Those present were Ahmad Ansari, Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer,JoAnn Boraas, Fixie Pixler and Mary Christenson. Excused were, Rori Coleman-Woods and Mary Olafson. Cynthy Mandl is in Costa Rica. We will miss Eric Melendez and Tenzin Dolkar, youth members. Minutes of the August 20th meeting were approved as corrected. The treasurer gave us a report. We have $5,186.16 as of September 30. Expenses include $96.48 for a shelter and $81.53 for T-shirts. Dave will present a bill for the coffee he purchased. Updates- Pennfest went well. Many thanks to those who manned the commission booth. We were able to display and explain the itinerary of the upcoming Friendship City tour coming up March 2-14. The shelter worked fine. It is presently stored at the city garage. The weather was nice but breezy. Our location was located by the storm drainage ponds on the east side of Penn and every time a youngster kicked a soccer ball it had to be retrieved from there. We were located just downstream of municipal water fountains and there was a continuous stream of water flowing through our site. Next year we hope to be located upstream of the water flow and not so close to the storm drainage ponds. We provided 120 cups of Costa Rican coffee to be given away but due to the weather and that other groups were also providing coffee much of our coffee joined the storm water stream at the end of the event. Those who partook enjoyed the Dota Mountain coffee from Finca La Anita. Their coffee serves to raise funds for Minnesota High School students participating in research in the Costa Rican tropical rainforest. We were looking forward to participating in Unitv in the Communitv but it was cancelled. Certificates of Appreciation for Eric Melendez(3 yrs) and Tenkin Dolkin(1 yr) were prepared by JoAnn. We appreciate the efforts of our youth members. The status of Richfield Park in Heredia is pretty much the same. It will be promoted as we promote the tour. The Heredia Park sign is waiting for the new logo. Part of the tour cost will be a $100 fundraising contribution to the Commission, money is typically used to support Heredia needs and ongoing activities. Ahmad will be presenting our annual report to the City Council October 27tn Come support him if you can. We will look forward to news of our Tico friends when Cynthy returns. The meeting was adjourned. Next meeting Nov 19tn Respectfully submitted, by Dave Delzer for Mary Olafson Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes7 PM, November 19t", 2015 The meeting was called to order by our Chair, Ahmad Ansari. Mary Christensen and Mary Olafson were excused. All other members were present. Minutes of the October 15t" meeting were approved. The treasurer's report indicated expenses of: brochures....... $103.33 t-sh i rts.............. 172.50 ca n o py............. 96.48 brochures......... 81.53 coffee................ 20.00 — $471.84 These items were used to promote our upcoming visit to our Friendship City, Heredia, and to help spread understanding of the purpose of the commission at events such as Pennfest. The treasurer reported a balance of $5,089.81. Qur Ambassador to Heredia, Cynthy Mandl, indicated there are 13 individuals signed up for the trip March 2nd—March 14th. She suggested those going be invited to meet at 6PM Thursday December 17th to get acquainted and learn about the itinerary and host family stays. Suggestions for using money set aside as part of the tour costs ($100) for possible donations to those organizations we visit in Heredia who can use our help were discussed and will be covered. It was decided to have a short commission meeting afterward. Cynthy also reported regarding Guillermo Hernandez's medical problems. His recovery has been complicated, but is progressing. We wish him the best and look forward to seeing his sculpture when it is completed. Our chair's annual report to the City Council was reviewed and discussed. He did a good job. The next scheduled meeting will be December 17tn Respectfully Submitted by David Delzer for Mary Olafson. Richfield Friendship City Commission Richfield Municipal Building — Heredia Room 7:00 PM November 19t", 2015 1. Call to Order 2. Welcome Visitors 3. Approve Minutes of October 15th Meeting (Provided at Meeting) 4. Treasurer's Report 5. Commission Updates — a. Certificates of Appreciation b. .Annual Report to City Counci) Debrief c. Sculpture d. Costa Rica Trip e. Bank Account/Commission Entity — Roger f. Commission Allotment from Council - $500 g. Commission Bylaws — Facebook Page h. Heredia Park Sign i. Richfield Park j. Fundraising 6. New Business a. Newspaper Article - Cynthy b. Soccer Projects — Rori c. Arts Commission Joint Meeting — Cynthy 7. Future Trip to Costa Rica — March 2nd-14t", 2016 8. Open Discussion 9. Adjourn 10. Next Scheduled Meeting — December 17t", 2015 Submitted by Ahmad Ansari, Chair FCC Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes7 PM, November 19t", 2015 The meeting was called to order by our Chair, Ahmad Ansari. Mary Christensen and Mary Olafson were excused. All other members were present. Minutes of the October 15th meeting were approved. The treasurer's report indicated expenses of: brochures....... $103.33 t-s h i rts.............. 17 2.50 ca n o py............. 9 6.48 brochures......... 81.53 coff e e................ 20.00 $471.84 These items were used to promote our upcoming visit to our Friendship City, Heredia, and to help spread understanding of the purpose of the commission at events such as Pennfest. The treasurer reported a balance of $5,089.81. Our Ambassador to Heredia, Cynthy Mandl, indicated there are 13 individuals signed up for the trip March 2nd--March 14t". She suggested those going be invited to meet at 6PM Thursday December 17t" to get acquainted and learn about the itinerary and host family stays. Suggestions for using money set aside as part of the tour costs ($100) for possible donations to those organizations we visit in Heredia who can use our help were discussed and will be covered. It was decided to have a short commission meeting afterward. Cynthy also reported regarding Guillermo Hernandez's medical problems. His recovery has been complicated, but is progressing. We wish him the best and look forward to seeing his sculpture when it is completed. Our chair's annual report to the City Council was reviewed and discussed. He did a good job. The next scheduled meeting will be December 17tn Respectfully Submitted by David Delzer for Mary Olafson. Richfield Friendship City Commission Richfield Municipal Building — Heredia Room 6:00 PM December 17t", 2015 1. Costa Rica Trip Orientation 2. Call to Order 3. Wefcome Visitors 4. Approve Minutes of November 19t" Meeting (Provided at Meeting) 5. Treasurer's Report 6. Open Discussion 7. Adjourn 8. Next Scheduled Meeting — January 21St, 2016 Submitted by Ahmad Ansari, Chair FCC