HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/02/2014 SCC Subcommittee Minutes (Draft)
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Meeting Location: Mount Prospect Public Library
I.Call to order by Skip Farley at 5:45 p.m.
II.Roll Call attendees: Skip Farley, Paula Randant, George Busse, Georgia Mitchell
III.Approval of minutes: Accepted as submitted
IV.Citizens to be heard: None
V.Old Business;
A.At the last meeting, Paula Randant agreed to explore which German Cities
indicated they are seeking a sister city, as identified by the Sister Cities
International. Randant obtained the list and, of the cities listed, most of them
have populations that are too large in relation to Mount Prospect, over 100K
up to 3 to 5 million. There were two that are close to the Mount Prospect
population base from the international list, however, that are a relative match:
Wolfenbüttel, at 51,581 and Passau, with around 50,000.
B.Georgia Mitchell recently went on a business trip to Germany and had agreed
to do some exploring with German colleagues whether anyone in Germany
she is in contact with has any information about the Sister Cities commission in
Germany. Mitchell reported that she had spoken with a number of associates
but none had any awareness of those cities looking for a Sister Cities partner.
However, she was able to obtain several German websites with population
information as well as information about those which are already connected
to U.S. cities through the Sister Cities program.
VI.New Business
A.The alternatives were discussed and it was decided that four cities will be
explored further for potential interest.
1.Leinfelden-Echterdingen: This paired city, in the southern part of
Germany, has a population of roughly 50,000 people and also is the
headquarters location of the Bosch Power Tools Division, the division
that Mitchell is part of. She will contact colleagues in Leinfelden to try
to determine an appropriate contact in the city government.
2.Hamelein is a city in a more northwestern area of Germany. It is the city
from which many of the original Mount Prospect founders emigrated.
Hamelein also has an appropriate population of 50,000. George Busse
will explore this option.
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3.Randant will explore more about the city of Passau, 50K population,
with her contacts.
4.Skip Farley noted that Benedict in Sèvres, France would be an
appropriate contact to ask about Wolfenbüttel, whose population is
51,581.
B.The group discussed the features we should be looking for in any City that was
considered as a Sister city candidate. It was decided that the major criteria
should include a focus on a cultural relationship because of the heritage of
Mount Prospect, an emphasis on business, economics, and a schools/
educational focus for youth.
C.Our next steps should be to get to know the city or cities that are interested,
including making a site visit to the cities to meet the governmental contacts.
This would be an official investigation to determine whether there is a match
between Mount Prospect and the potential Sister city.
VII.Other Business
A.Randant also reported that Mayor Arlene A. Juracek would like this subcommittee
to make a suggestion for the future structure of a two-city relationship for Mount
Prospect. The subcommittee agreed to suggest that under the Sister Cities
Commission there should be two independent committees covering each foreign
city, both of which would be responsible to the Commission and that each would
have a designated liaison between the Committees and the Commission. To
confirm this is a viable option and to formalize our recommendation, Randant will
request a copy of the City Ordinance that allows for the establishment of the
commission.
VIII.Next Meeting July 14, 5:45 p.m. at the Mt. Prospect Public Library.
IX.Meeting adjourned, 6:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Georgia Mitchell
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