19 September 2020

2 Agendas > Mesa City Council ZOOM Virtual Platform Mon 09.21.2020:

Time to ask: Who sets the agendas for these public meetings (closed to the public except for 'electronic access' where so few members of the public are actively interested or engaged?
More to the point > what we have in front of the City Council on Monday are a re-hash of "Approved Minutes" from an old Human Relations Advisory Board Meeting back in June - 3 months ago - and a presentation about The Lehi Mesa History Museum. NOTHING ON THE AGENDA TO DEAL WITH OR EVEN BRING UP THE SUBJECT OF THE 17% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HERE IN THE CITY OF MESA.
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Readers of this blog might want to take another look - or a first look as the case may be - and last Thursday's Mesa City Council Study to see what was commented on and discussed and what direction, if any, was provided to review the 21 items on the Regular Meeting's Final Agenda.
Here's the link to that post with an upload of the streaming video from 09.17.2020
Council Study Session Notice:

To decrease COVID-19 exposure, the City Council Chambers is closed, but public viewing and input on the items are available electronically.  

Members of the City Council will appear electronically for this meeting, via a video conferencing platform, and the live meeting will be accessible via broadcast and telephonically. 

Because of the current public health emergency, the City Council Chambers is closed for Council study sessions.

However, the live meeting may be watched on local cable Mesa channel 11, online at Mesa11.com/live, www.youtube.com/user/cityofmesa11/live, or https://www.facebook.com/CityofMesaor listened to by calling 888-788-0099 or 877-853-5247 (toll free) using meeting ID 5301232921 and following the prompts.    For any difficulties accessing this meeting, please call 480-644-2099.

BLOGGER NOTE:

 

STUDY SESSION 5:00 pm

Roll Call
1 Review and discuss items on the agenda for the September 21, 2020 regular Council meeting

THERE ARE 21 MEETING ITEMS

PLEASE NOTE ITEM 6-a

File #: 20-0927   
Type: Notice of Intention Status: Agenda Ready
In control: City Council
On agenda: 9/21/2020
Title: Notice of Intention to adjust utility rates.
Attachments:

1. FY2021 Notice of Intention,

2. FY20-21 Utility Rate Proposal Report,

3. Attachment 1 - Utility Rate Recommendations for FY 2021,

4. Attachment 2 - City of Mesa Utility Enterprise Fund Cash Flow Projections.pdf

LINK > Council, Committee & Board Research Center http://mesa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

Meeting Name: City Council Agenda status: Final
Meeting date/time: 9/21/2020 5:45 PM Minutes status: Draft  
Meeting location: Virtual Platform
Published agenda: Agenda Agenda Published minutes: Not available  
Meeting video:  
Attachments:

 

2 Presentations/Action Items:

20-0962 Hear a presentation and discuss an update on the programs and services provided by the Mesa Historical Museum. 2-a

File #: 20-0962   
Type: Presentation Status: Agenda Ready
In control: City Council Study Session
On agenda: 9/21/2020
Title: Hear a presentation and discuss an update on the programs and services provided by the Mesa Historical Museum.
Attachments: 1. Presentation

Presentation (13).pdf is 24 Power Point Slides

MESA HISTORICAL MUSEUM
UPCOMING EXHIBITS AND EVENTS

The Mesa Historical Museum Public Re-opening:
Saturday,  October 10, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  
*Visitors will be required to wear facemasks
We recommend calling ahead to reserve a timeslot
Hours during October: Wednesday-Saturday 10 am - 2 pm

CLOSURE ACTIVITIES
• Cleared out two remaining classrooms that were being used as storage to make way for new exhibits.

• Created Online Collections and Virtual Exhibits which are accessible through our website.

• Revamped the entire collections department and updated our database.

• Cleared out Old Town and Myrick Room for cleaning and organizing collections.

• Created three new exhibits and revamped the Mesa History Room.

• Held weekly staff meetings and worked together as a team each week to create new storyboards and displays to share with our visitors.

NEW EXHIBITS

WOMEN IN AVIATION

LEHI SCHOOL EXHIBIT

MESA HISTORY ROOM slide 13
The newly renovated Mesa History Room now includes the domestic life of the founding men and women, including agriculture and blacksmithing as well as the 5 Cs of Arizona. Our goal for this room is to use it as a teaching exhibit for students who want to learn about the settlement of Mesa.

FOUNDING FAMILIES EXHIBIT slide 16
• This exhibit will showcase a wide array of collections and stories from members of the first founding families who settled in Mesa and Lehi.
• Construction of a “front porch” area that will become interactive with stories and guest speakers
• The Founding Families room will be a permanent exhibit at the Mesa Historical
• Some of the family collections include Dana, Lesueur, Pomeroy, Crismon and Rogers to name a few. We will be dedicating a full storyboard to all of the founding families within the exhibit

FUTURE EXHIBITS
• Permanent Play Ball exhibit which we plan to open before spring training in 2021.  • Highlight the birth of the Cactus League and the impact that spring training has had on the Mesa Community. • Our upcoming special exhibits for 2021 includes Diversity in Mesa which will feature the many cultures in the community including a special display that honors Dr.  Alston, the first black doctor to practice in Mesa.

GRANTS
• We received a grant in the amount of $5,000 from AZ Humanities CARES Act to create a virtual exhibit. • We also received a grant for $370 from the AZ Preservation Foundation to purchase software to create an online digital collection. • We were awarded $1,300 grant from Arizona Historical Society to conduct an Oral History Project 

FUNDRAISING
• We are holding a rummage sale on September 25 and 26 • We are planning a huge book fair for the first week in December. • Our Cemetery Tour is scheduled for October 24th • Donor appeal letters will be sent out in late November to attract increase our membership now that we have reopened. • A Spring event is being discussed by our fundraising committee

ONLINE COLLECTIONS AND VIRTUAL EXHIBITS
• Our new Online Collections is a search tool that allows community members and other enthusiasts to look through some of our collections and search our objects, photographs, archives, and library resources.  • This week we plan to unveil our Virtual Exhibits which will explore some of our Buckhorn Collection, Baseball Collection, class photos of the various Mesa Schools, a Pioneer Collection (photos and artifacts from early Mesa/Lehi pioneers), a collection of photographs of early Mesa sights, and a virtual exhibit that explores fashion through the years.

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3 Acknowledge receipt of minutes of various boards and committees.

20-0974 Human Relations Advisory Board meeting held on June 24, 2020.3-a

File #: 20-0974   
Type: Minutes Status: Agenda Ready
In control: City Council Study Session
On agenda: 9/21/2020
Title: Human Relations Advisory Board meeting held on June 24, 2020.
Attachments: 1. a. Human Relations Advisory Board Minutes Jun 24, 2020

CITY OF MESA HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY BOARD (HRAB)

June 24, 2020 Minutes  
The Human Relations Advisory Board (HRAB) of the City of Mesa met on June 24, 2020 at 6:00pm via ZOOM. 

4 members absent. 2 were announced as excused absences

2. Items from Citizens Present.
No citizens wished to speak to the board


3. Hear and discuss opening remarks by Mesa Mayor, John Giles. 
Mayor Giles was present to discuss updates of the City of Mesa’s COVID-19 response.

Mayor Giles indicated that he, with council approval, implemented a mask-order in the city after the Governor gave the discretion over mask orders to local mayors and leaders.

He shared a presentation by the Maricopa Association of Government relayed that masks were among the most effective ways to contain the spread of the virus.

Mayor Giles shared that the City was exploring safe ways for the City to begin the opening process for certain culture and parks programs that won’t increase the spread of the virus. This is buoyed by the funds received through the federal CARES Act.

He invited the board to view future virtual events to support community business and organizations and the City’s response.

Additionally, Mayor Giles recognized the disproportionate impact that COVID19 has had on communities of color.

Mr. Brennan asked if there was data that was specific to the cases within the City of Mesa that included demographics.

Ms. Alicoate and Ms. Lewis shared that they would provide all available data but that current demographic specifics are not regionally collected.

Mayor Giles did acknowledge that within the city, lower income zip codes did have the highest infection rates.

He asked the board for their expertise and suggestions to assist in belaying the negative effects on these demographics. Multiple board members expressed their gratitude to Mayor Giles for taking the lead and implementing a masks mandate. 
Mayor Giles additionally shared his acknowledgment of the racial justice movement currently progressing nationally and within the City of Mesa.

Mayor Giles said that he had attended multiple in-person and virtual events to promote dialogue between community members and police departments.

He also oversaw the City of Mesa’s proclamation of Juneteenth, along with HRAB Chair Mr. Williams. Mayor Giles again invited the board to explore and suggest ways for the City of Mesa to approach community issues using their expertise and familiarity with the needs of the community.

Mayor Giles wanted to know where connections can be made that would help assist in building trust between municipal police and all members of the community. He also requested that the board explore ways that traditional community events such as the MLK celebrations and Unity Walk can be reimagined to maintain public health in this new, more virtual reality.


4. Hear and discuss update from the Diversity Office. 
Ms. Alicoate provided an update on some of the new work that the City of Mesa Diversity Office was accomplishing in furthering equitable programs in the city.

Ms. Alicoate updated that she and City Management were currently working on and developing a Diversity Action Plan.

This would be done with investment from community leaders, including members of the Human Relations Advisory Board. Once the plan progresses further in the draft process, it would be presented to the board for input and review. Also, Ms. Alicoate echoed the sentiment that Mayor Giles expressed in the boards expertise in reimaging community events moving forward.

She invited the board to have community partners and agencies to come and present to the board on how HRAB can promote more community educations and discussions.

 5. Approval of minutes from the April 22, 2020 HRAB meeting


6. Hear and discuss update from the Mesa Police Department. 
(4a) Update on police community forums and other community engagement initiatives.
(4b)  Reporting and statistics of police cases and trends within the community as it relates to diversity.
Mesa Police Chief Ken Cost was present to share some of the work that the department is doing to address key issues.

Chief Cost shared that Mesa PD was the only regional East Valley department that has their own police academy that is utilized by other regional departments to train their officers as well.

This academy is the longest in the state and one of the longest in the country. Mesa PD has increased de-escalation training in the academy from 16 hours to 45 hours. This is in addition to implicit bias training that every member of the department is required to take every two years.

In reference to the events currently transpiring in the country, Chief Cost shared that Mesa PD has a “Duty to Act” policy that ensures that all police staff are required through duty to intervene if they or another officer is using force outside of normal procedures. This extends to the academy as well where recruits are failed if they to do not act in training situations where excessive force is used. 
Chief Cost shared with the board how Mesa PD has been increasing staff time and focus in increasing the diversity of new recruits.

More information can be made available as more data and information is compiled and available.

Mesa PD’s goal is to create an environment where the department is both well trained and representative of the community. The Chief shared that the department has a focus on ensuring that any officer is encouraged to report acts of misconduct by any other member of the department. More training is being promoted to allow for additional transparency in the reporting of these acts. Chief Cost shared that there is a codified discipline for those officers who either commit excessive actions or not report those acts. Mr. Brennan shared with the Chief and Mayor that he and other Mesa high schools’ principals are fully supportive of the School Resource Officer presence in their schools and that they appreciate Mesa PD’s support in educating youth moving forward.  
7. Hear and discuss Citywide efforts to COVID-19 including Mesa CARES programs. 
Ms. Alicoate shared an update on the continuation of the City of Mesa; Mesa CARES programs. She reported that the partnership between the City and the United Food Bank was maintaining the success of the Feeding Mesa programs. This includes the food distribution events at the Mesa Convention Center, Food Drives and Restaurants buyout programs. Ms. Alicoate also shared that using additional funds from the federal CARES Act and CDBG funds to implement an Eviction Prevention program. More details on sign-ups and distribution will follow.
8. Scheduling of meetings, future agenda items, and general information.
(11a)  Next HRAB meeting will be held on August 26, 2020 at 6pm in the Lower Level City Council Chambers (57 E 1st St) or via ZOOM.
9. Hear reports on conferences and/or meetings attended.
Dr. Byron has begun the joining process of the board of the Arizona Historical Society and attended her first meeting via Zoom.

Mr. Williams reported that he had attended a listening session with the Pinal County Sheriff Office for community feedback with regional leaders. He also attended the Hero Zona forum with Mayor Giles as well as political and community leaders from Maricopa County and the State of Arizona.
Supporting data is available for public review in the Diversity Office, 200 S. Center St., Bldg. 1, Mesa, Arizona 85201 (480) 644-3705
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Supporting data is available for public review in the Diversity Office, 200 S. Center St., Bldg. 1, Mesa, Arizona 85201 (480) 644-3705
CITY

 

 


4 Current events summary including meetings and conferences attended.
5 Scheduling of meetings.

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