Commuity For Care - SPIRIT

SIMSBURY COMMUNITY FOR CARE

DRAFT SPIRIT Council Meeting Minutes
MEETING June 25, 2020 - 6-8 pm
Via Zoom Live Feed

PUBLIC COMMENTS were able to be submitted to be read during the public audience portion to Simsbury Town Clerk at EButler@simsbury-ct.gov. Deadline for public comments was no later than 4:30pm Wednesday, June 24, 2020.

Meeting called to order at 6:00

PUBLIC AUDIENCE No public comments were posted.

Roll Call:  In attendance via zoom were: Gertrude Banks, Sarah Batchelder, Chief Nicholas  Boulter, Carol Clark-Flanagan, Cheryl Cook, Kristen Formanek,  Tenesha Grant, Rebekah Hatch, Wendy Helmkamp, Lloyd Huie, Chris Kelly, Nicole Kodak, Nkosi Lee, Sue Homrok-Lemke, Deacon Art Miller, Gene Ott, Angelica Soto, Wendy Mackstutis, and Diana Yeisley

UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR

ACTION ITEMS

Minutes from February 27th were approved as written.

Proposed SPIRIT Council meeting calendar was discussed. Gene Ott moved to approve; Chris Kelly seconded; no objections.  Calendar was adopted as presented.

SPIRIT Council is scheduled to present to the Board of Selectmen September 28th.  Subcommittee chairs will send updates to Cheryl and Nicole prior to Sept. 24th council meeting.

Carol Clark-Flanagan updated council on the collection and creation of videos and photos, with permissions.  Council emphasized the need to show images of the community at large including Black Lives Matter rallies, the construction of the MLK memorial, sports and arts, and diverse people enjoying each other around town.  Susan Homrok-Lemke volunteered to work with Carol to collect these images. 

Council discussed the Board of Selectmen’s request to review diversity banner submissions.

Tenesha Grant will chair the sub-committee to review artist submissions for the diversity banner and submit the chosen proposal to Board of Selectmen by July 3rd.  Gene Ott, Wendy Helmkamp, Sarah Batchelder, and Gertrude Banks volunteered for the subcommittee as well.

SUB-COMMITTEE REPORTS

Marketing Committee – Social Media update – SPIRIT Council received authorization to publish a Town Facebook page June 8th.  There has been lots of traffic with over 4,000 people reached and 383 followers.  We will use the page to share programming and events, announce upcoming meetings, and connect with community members via messaging. 

Logo update – SPIRIT has several logo options developed by a local business owner.  Nkosi Lee will convene the marketing subcommittee over the summer and present a proposed SPIRIT Council logo at our next meeting.

Tenesha Grant suggested the marketing subcommittee work with town officials to publish a Proclamation on the Town’s stance on racism, diversity, and inclusion.  We also discussed other Facebook groups organizing around this work.  Many groups are developing lists of resources.  Gene Ott shared that Simsbury faith based leaders are also working on resources and agreed to collaborate to minimize duplication of effort.  The Council would like to collaborate with as many entities as possible on this important work.

Data / Audit Group – The group is working on gathering quantitative data from schools, police department activity, and other sources. We have learned more about Decatur, GA “Better Together”.  They worked primarily with a consultant along with lots of community listening gatherings.  Chris Kelly volunteered to support the subcommittee to initiate surveys to identify experiences, trends, and perceptions.  Wendy Helmkamp volunteered to design and support community listening gatherings. 

Outreach Committee – Lloyd Huie shared plans to host the program “Bridge to Racial Reconciliation” at the Simsbury Public Library.  This would be a group program and will be filmed by SCTV.  The Council as a whole would like to review the curriculum and with Lloyd to ensure that it fits completely with our mission and vision.  Lloyd also suggested we view the documentary “Slavery by Another Name” prior to making a decision regarding the program.  Council members will establish a time to review the curriculum with Lloyd.  

NEW BUSINESS

Community Conversations – A discussion was had regarding the two types of conversations the Council will offer; listening (data/audit subcommittee) and gatherings, events (new programming and events subcommittee). 

A new Programming and Events subcommittee formed to organize gatherings.  Nkosi Lee will chair this subcommittee with; Angelica Soto, Gertrude Banks, Tenesha Grant, Diana Yiesley, Sara Batchelder, Nicole Kodak. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Update on the Equity Council – Sue Homrok-Lemke discussed how the Equity Council has developed a proposed Equity Stance with core values to tie into the strategic plan for Simsbury Public Schools.  This was presented to the Board of Education, discussed and approved. 

OLD BUSINESS – none.

NEXT MEETING: September 24th, 2020 ADJOURNMENT