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
from the meeting held on December 1, 2014, 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 Prospect’s interest in finding a Sister
City in Germany and asked for Sister Cities International’s 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
Village’s 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 Village’s 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
that the company’s direct involvement in the Village’s efforts to find a German Sister City would
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