Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout5. SCC Subcommittee Minutes 01/05/2015 Mount Prospect Sister Cities Commission German Subcommittee January 5, 2015 Minutes - DRAFT Meeting Location: Mount Prospect Public Library, Conference Room 130 10 S. Emerson St., Mount Prospect, IL 60056 I. Call to Order: by Chairman Skip Farley at 5:45 p.m. II. Roll Call: Skip Farley, John Eilering, George Busse, Paula Randant and Mayor Arlene A. Juracek were in attendance. Georgia Mitchell was absent. III. Approval of Minutes: On motion of John Eilering and a second by Paula Randant the minutes were approved with a minor correction. IV. Citizens to be Heard: None V. Old Business: A. Paula Randant reported on contact with Sister Cities International. She spoke with Taylor Woodruff, the Membership Coordinator, regarding Mount City in Germany and asked for Sister Cities assistance in identifying potential twins. Mr. Woodruff has not gotten back to Paula. She will follow up with him. B. George Busse reported on discussions with the Mount Prospect Historical Society regarding the identification of German cities, other than Hamelin, that were the ancestral homes of the Villages early German settlers. Several cities/towns were mentioned but Busse recommended that the Subcommittee may be best served by first identifying German cities that are looking for an American twin. Once these cities are identified the Subcommittee can then give priority in its search to those located in the areas from which the Villages early settlers immigrated. That area is primarily in north central Germany, south of Hannover near the Weser River. After discussion, this strategy was agreed upon by the Subcommittee. VI. New Business: A. Mayor Juracek expressed her thanks to the Subcommittee for the work they were doing and indicated that, while she was disappointed by the rejection of our twinning overtures to Hamelin, she was pleased with the progress the subcommittee has been making. She agreed that, at this stage of our efforts to find a twin, it may be most effective to get a list of the German Cities looking for twins from Sister Cities International and then work from that list. B. Mayor Juracek recommended that the Subcommittee move forward with their second task which is to propose an organizational/governing structure for the Village Sister City Commission which incorporates both French and German twins. The Subcommittee had discussed an organizational structure at past meetings and Chairman Farley volunteered to put together a draft proposal for the next meeting drawing from the ideas generated from the previous discussions. C. George Busse recommended that Mayor Juracek or Subcommittee Chairman Farley contact Bosch and solicit a representative from their company to serve on the Subcommittee. It was felt be beneficial in terms of insight and resources and would also enhance our profile with potential twins. Farley indicated that he would email the Subcommittee members a draft of the proposal prior to the next meeting. VII. Other Business: A. Chairman Farley suggested that in choosing a German twin the Subcommittee should consider a wide range of factors and not limit itself to shared heritage, population and location. He noted that a successful twinning would be enhanced by shared interests such as music programs and sports. The other Subcommittee members agreed that shared interests should be a priority in vetting potential twins. B. The Subcommittee felt it was still advantageous to meet monthly. It was felt monthly meetings, even if limited in content, would keep the Subcommittee focused and moving forward. VIII. Next Meeting: February 2, 2015 at 5:45 p.m. at the Mount Prospect Public Library, if available IX. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m. by Chairman Skip Farley