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minutes 2009Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes January 15, 2009 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Roger Swanson. Those present were Roger Swanson, Frank Si#ko, Pat Elliott, Cynthy Mandl, Dave Delzer, and Mary Supple. Craig Osten had an excused absence. Council Member Pat Elliott was introduced as the Commission's new liaison. The October minutes were approved as printed. Roger Swanson gave the treasurer's report and is sharing it with other commission members through Google Docs. Our ending balance on December 31, 2008, was $3,775.88. The idea for a penpal project with a Costa Rican School was discussed. It was suggested that perhaps one of our recent visitors from Heredia, Olga, could connect us with a school in her area. We will also contact the Richfield Dual Language School. about participation. In additional to traditional letters, virtual correspondence through web cams and a-mail are possibilities. Finding a way to get the two donated walkers and the wheelchair to Costa Rica were discussed as Old Business. Our visitors were not able to take them back to Heredia in September. Methods of transport were brainstormed. Pat Elliott reported under`New Business that Commission positions are open. The City Council is currently interviewing applicants. He encouraged the Commission members to reach out to people who have expressed interest in the past to encourage new voices and fresh ideas. Cynthy Mandl passed along information about the recent earthquake near Heredia. She has been in contact with friends from previous visits and showed the Commission members before and after pictures from the natural disaster. It was moved and seconded for the Commission to gather any donations that Richfield community members want to send so they could be forwarded to appropriate parties in Heredia to help with earthquake relief. The motion passed. The next meeting will be on February 19, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was adjourned. ~, 4 , ~ ~ ~ i ;= ~,.._ ,~~,~~ .~~~~~,, ~~. ~.,. ~ .~ _~.~ ,ft . Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes February 18, 2009 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson. Those in attendance were Roger Swanson, Craig Osten, Cynthy Mandl and Dave Delzer. Mary Supple and Frank Sitko were excused. 2. Minutes from the January meeting were approved. 3. The treasurer reported Commission Members were now able to access the treasurer's report through Google. There have been no transactions since our last meeting.' 4. Dave Delzer was welcomed back to the commission. There are still four vacancies to fill. 5. Reorganization of officers was deferred until next meeting. There are five members and five offices to be filled. 6. Cynthy Mandl reported on opportunities to help earthquake victims from the quake near Vara Blanca, close to Heredia, in early January. • If $1000 can be raised it is enough to provide materials to reconstruct a house. The labor for rebuilding will be done by Costa Rican volunteers. • If less than that can be raised, Alvero Quesada would work with us to use donated funds for something local that would be of help. He would work with Maria Luisa to accomplish this. Donations for Costa Rican earthquake relief should be made out to the Richfield Friendship City Commission, designated for earthquake relief and mailed or given to Roger Swanson. The City of Richfield will acknowledge funds raised. 7. Mary Supple has spoken to Luis at the Dual Language School. He is up for pen pals. Craig Osten has contacted Olga Solis of Heredia's City Council and she is interested in working on her side. Craig will attend a Tuesday morning Open House February 24~' and meet with Luis in regards to how a pen pal program would work. The Costa Rican schools are generally in session from the end of February to the end of November. 8. There is a request to schedule the Commission's report to City Council, tentatively either in September or October. Since Cattail Days is in September it was agreed that it would be best to do the report in October. 9. The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be on March 19tH Dave Delzer...for Mary Supple, Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes March 19, 2009 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson at 7:00 p.m. We met in the City Hall lobby since we were locked out of the regular meeting room. Those in attendance were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Frank Sitko, Cynthy'Mandl, and Mary Supple. Craig Osten was excused. The February 18, 2009, minutes were approved as printed. The treasurer's report is on Google. It was received and filed with a balance of $3,776.58. Old Business: - $860 so far has been raised in the fundraising efforts for earthquake relief. A group e-mail was sent to solicit funds. Donations are still being accepted so further publicity will be sought. - The pen pal project is moving forward. New Business: - Officers were elected as follows: Chair, Roger Swanson; Vice Chair, Dave Delzer; Secretary, Mary Supple; Historian, Frank Sitko; and Treasurer, Craig Osten (pending his acceptance of the position). - Frank reported that he is still working on organization of the archives. He will provide an update next month. The next meeting is April 16, 2009. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Mary Supple, Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes April 16, 2009 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. New commission rosters were distributed. Those in attendance were Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Craig Osten, and Mary Supple. The March 19, 2009 minutes were- approved. The treasurer's report was presented. We have a balance of $3,786.27 not including any of the fundraising money for the earthquake. The report was received and filed for audit. Fundraising efforts for Costa Rica earthquake relief will close out on April 20. The effort is going well, and we are approaching $1,200.00 raised. A full report will be given next month after the funds are transmitted. - Craig reported on the pen pal project.. He has met with Luis of the Richfield Dual Language School. Luis will be contacting Olga and Alvaro in Heredia. Under Old Business, Craig Osten accepted the position of commission treasurer to which he was elected at the last meeting in his absence. The next meeting will be May 21. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Mary Supple, Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting. Minutes May 21, 2009 The meeting was called to order by Chair Roger Swanson at 7:00 p.m. Those in attendance were Roger Swanson, Pat Elliott, Frank Sitka, Craig Osten, Cynthy Mandl, Dave Delzer, and Mary Supple. Absent was Christine Kargel. The minutes of the April 16, 2009 meeting were approved as presented. The Treasurer's report was also received and filed for audit. We have a balance of $5,196.64, which includes $1,410 from the earthquake fundraiser and interest. We transitioned to the new Treasurer at this meeting. Records were passed on and signature cards completed. Old Business We were updated on the earthquake relief efforts. After wire transfer fees were taken care of, $1,390 arrived in Costa Rica. Alvaro will send pictures and documentation of how the money is used. Thank you letters were sent to all donors. Contacts were made for the pen pal project. Craig is waiting to hear back from Luis. Frank shared a listing of what we currently have in our historical archives. He is hoping to store them in the Heredia Room. Pat will work on facilitating that. Cynthy also. brought posters to add to the archives. New Business We would like a display area for Commission artifacts in the new City Hall. Pat will , inform us when the discussion in on the agenda for the City Council. Neighbors of Heredia Park in Richfield presented concerns to the City Council because schematics show that the new city hall will be partially on current park land. The Commission was updated on current plans. The name will not change, but a suggestion was made for a new name plaque explaining about Heredia, Costa Rica's, and Richfield's friendship -city relationship. Inquiries were made about a possible next tour of Richfield residents to Heredia. It would need at least 12 people. This will be explored at future meetings. Questions were also asked about the process for appointing youth members to the Commission as both positions are currently vacant. In the past, youth members have made a valuable contribution to our efforts. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Mary Supple Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes June 18, 2009 The meeting was called to order by Roger Swanson, our Chairman. Members present were Roger Swanson, Craig Osten, Frank Sitko and Dave Delzer. Mary Supple was ill and could not be with us. Christine Kargel was absent. .Jim Topitzhofer, Recreation Services Director for the City of Richfield, was introduced. He had been asked to join us and share regarding the impact on Heredia Park that would result from the construction of the new Richfield City Hall. Mr. Topitzhofer had met with concerned neighbors two days before, Tuesday June 16th. There will be another neighborhood meeting July 16th. The gist of the meeting Tuesday was that the community members who live near the park do use it and would like to see similar features and function once the work is done. It was explained the park will partially be used as staging area while the new building is being worked on. We were shown the site plan and Mr. Topitzhofer attempted to describe how Heredia Park would probably be after the new facility was completed. While a portion of the park will need to be used within the footprint of the new facility and for Fire Department parking, park functions after the work is done would include green space, tennis, perhaps a picnic shelter, playground and ball field. City Hall visitors and employees would benefit from ready park access and enhanced landscaping. Commission members again expressed their concern that Heredia Park remain viable and recognizable as an entity; reiterating how it tied together with "Boulevard Richfield" in Heredia; named in honor of our Friendship City connection and designated as such with a plaque. It would be good to include a plaque or some other explanation of why the park is named as it is. Other concerns regarding our needs were covered. While we have shared these concerns with~Mayor Goetel and with Rick Jabs previously, Mr. Topitzhofer suggested that the time would be right to send a letter to Mr. Jabs regarding our needs for display and storage space and requesting a meeting room be named the Heredia room. We appreciated his input. Thanks, Jim! May 21St meeting minutes were approved. The Treasurer indicated funds of $3772 remaining after $1425 had been sent to Heredia for earthquake relief. Frank Sitko's efforts with the records were reviewed and his recommendations accepted. Good work, Frank! The next meeting will be July 16th. Meeting Adjourned. Minutes prepared by Dave Delzer. Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes July 16, 2009 The Commission began its meeting by sitting in on the public hearing in the City Council Chambers on the subject of city hall construction and its impact on Heredia Park. This hearing was of interest to the Commission because Heredia Park is named after Heredia, Costa Rica, our Friendship City partner. Cynthy Mandl made available a copy of the public plaque on display in Heredia honoring the relationship. Following the meeting, Chair Roger Swanson called the business portion of the meeting to order. Present were Frank Sitko, Cynthy Mandl, Roger Swanson and Mary Supple. Members Craig Osten and Dave Delzer had excused absences. Cynthy received an a-mail update from Costa Rica on a proposal for the use of the donated earthquake relief funds. A suggestion was made to use the money to replace the local school copier damaged in the quake. Cynthy will follow-up with Alvaro expressing that the Commission would be fine with that plan for the use of the funds. Alvaro also asked about the possibility of using any remaining funds for wheelchairs and hospital beds. Cynthy will clarify that all donated funds are to be used specifically for earthquake relief. Frank Sitko gave an update on the archives project. Roger has reserved a booth for the Commission at Cattail Day on September 19. Coffee will again be ordered. All other business on the agenda, including approval of last month's minutes, was postponed until our next meeting on August 20, due to the lateness of the hour. Respectfully submitted, Mary Supple, Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes August 20, 2009. The meeting was called to order by Chair Roger Swanson. In attendance were Craig Osten, Dave Delzer, Roger Swanson, Frank Sitko, Cynthy Mandl, and Mary Supple. The minutes from the June 18 and July 16, 2009, meetings were approved. The treasurer's report was received and filed. We have a balance of $3,782. The July 16th hearing on how city hall construction will affect Heredia Park was reviewed. We are exploring getting a plaque for the park. Previous committee members who helped with the plaque in Heredia will be contacted. Frank will check our archives for records as well. We have previously sold pins as a fundraiser. We can sell them again at Cattail Days if a sufficient supply can be located in storage. Cynthy suggested that we take a photographic inventory of the Heredia. artifacts owned by the Commission in preparation for the move to a new city hall. Craig will be contacting Luis at RDLS about the penpal project as soon as school is back in session in September. Cynthy gave an update on the earthquake relief efforts. The province is getting bids on a copier. They are still in the decision making process. Frank reported on the archival organization process. He has enough binders and dividers and will be ready for Commission review of the binders by the next meeting. Discussion ensued as to where the archives should be stored. Frank will keep them for now since city hall will be-under construction soon. Cynthy also brought in additional items for the archives. It was decided that items related to our relationship with Heredia would be kept, but generic Costa Rica information did not need to be in the commission archives. We will have a booth at Cattail Days on September 19th from 9 to 5. Dave has ordered the coffee. We have some to sell and some to give away as samples. Roger will bring the table for the coffee. Mary will provide card tables and clothespins. Cynthy has a shade canopy/tent to use and the plaque rubbing. Dave will make the coffee and bring the photo boards. We will do a drawing again this year. Set up begins at 8:00 a.m. The next meeting will be on September 17. Dave will convene the meeting as Roger will not be there. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Mary Supple, Secretary Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes September 17, 2009 Due to the lack of quorum, official business could not be conducted at the September 17, 2009 meeting of the Richfield Friendship City Commission. In attendance were Dave Delzer, Cynthy Mandl and Mary Supple. Roger Swanson was contacted via telephone. Three brief reports were given:' 1. Alvaro is waiting to hear from the mayor of Heredia about the disposition of our earthquake relief donation. 2. Justin Delzer and Cynthy Mandl made a digital pictorial and an Excel spreadsheet record of the commission items at City Hall. There are 37 artifacts in the Heredia Conference Room, 8 in the Council Chambers and 3 remaining in the reception area. One item from the reception area could not be located. 3. Cynthy will print a flier for Cattail Days. Roger will give a report on the commission's- activities at the October 13 City Council meeting. Out next scheduled meeting is Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Mary Supple, Secretary NOTE: The October 15 meeting has been canceled. The next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m. Richfield Friendship City Commission Meeting Minutes November 19, 2009 The meeting was called to order by Chair Roger Swanson at 7:00 p.m. Members present were Frank Sitko, Roger Swanson, Dave Delzer, Cynthy Mandl, Molly Olson, and Mary Supple. Craig Osten was absent. New commission member, Molly Olson, was introduced and welcomed. The minutes of the August 20 and September 17 meetings were approved as submitted. There was no treasurer's report. Cynthy reported on correspondence relating to our earthquake relief donation. The money is being used for building materials on a project at the local public school. Alvaro sent pictures. Cynthy will ask for more details. A motion was made and seconded to print and display the pictures. There was no report on the pen pal project. Frank reported that the historical archives project is complete. He did find information on the plaque we sent to Costa Rica, but not the name of the company that produced it. We have three bags of coffee left after Cattail Days. A drawing was held from the names submitted at that time, and Eric Schroeder was the winner of the coffee. We also pulled out the names of any person expressing interest in serving on the commission after the drawing was complete. Mary will send commission applications to them. The City Hall inventory of Friendship City Commission property was distributed by Cynthy. Roger then shared the informal inventory that was taken of our property currently stored at the city garage. Amore formal inventory will follow. A discussion was also held as to where the archives should be stored. Due to the impending construction, Frank will keep them at his home for now. Roger reported our status to the City Council on October 13, 2009. Dave will compile the year-end report to send in. Updated rosters were distributed. Written notice was given to Christine Kargel on October 5 that she had missed all commission meetings thus far and may be dropped from membership. No response was received. A motion was made and seconded to recommend to the City Council that she be dropped from the commission due to absences and a replacement be found. There will not be a December meeting. The next meeting will be January 21, 2010. It was asked that a 2011 trip to Costa Rica be placed on a future agenda. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Mary Supple, Secretary