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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Cultural Communities Board - 03/28/2017 (2) Cultural Communities Board Agenda Kent City Staff: Mayor Suzette Cooke, Dinah Wilson – Human Services City Council Members: Bill Boyce, Council President, Jim Berrios, Brenda Fincher, Dennis Higgins, Dana Ralph Cultural Community Board Members: Beabe Akpojovwo, Davies Chirwa, Josephine Karanja, Yusuf Bashir, Marvin Eckfeldt, Mizanur Rahman, Norma Maldonado, Rand Al Hammadi, Satwinder Kaur, Sharnsdeep Kaur, Sonia Morales, Hussein Al Kinani, Cesar Rangel, Ta Kwe Say Vaivao Semisi Tupou, Yuriy Zaremba, Shamso Issak, Ted Schwarz Board Advisors: Pastor Herbert Carey, Marwa Almusawi March 28, 2017, 6:30 - 8 p.m.* Kent Parks Community Center at Kent Phoenix Academy 11000 SE 264th St., Kent, WA 98030 *6:00 p.m. Dinner/Networking (Dinner Provided for Board) Item Description Action Speaker Time 1. Call to order 1 2. Roll Call 1 3. Changes to the Agenda 1 4. Welcome Mayor Cooke 5. Approve February Minutes Yes 1 6. Discuss Information from February Meeting All 7. Advancing Multi-cultural Awareness 8. Community Center Tour (7:45) 9. Adjourn The Cultural Communities Board meets at 6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month in various locations throughout Kent. For additional information please contact Dinah Wilson at 253-856-5076, or via email at DRWilson@KentWA.gov. Any person requiring a disability accommodation should contact the City Clerk’s Office at 253-856-5725 in advance. For TDD relay service call Washington Telecommunications Relay Service at 1-800-833-6388. Kent Cultural Communities Board Meeting February 28, 2017 Minutes 6:30 p.m. Place: First Christian Church 11717 SE 240th Street, Kent, WA Approval Pending Attending: Yusuf Bashir Marvin Eckfeldt Rand Al Hammadi Shamso Issak Josephine Karanja Satwinder Kaur Sharnshoke Kaur Hussein Al Kinani Dr. Sonia Morales Mizanur Rahman (Mizan) Cesar Rangel Ta Kwe Say Ted Schwarz Vaivao Semisi-Tupou Staff: Dinah Wilson Absent: Beabe Akpojovwo Marwa Almusawi Yuriy Zaremba Staff: Mayor Cooke 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Dinah Wilson and turned over to Chair, Satwinder Kaur. The CCB thanked Board member, Marvin Eckfeldt, for reserving the meeting space and First Christian and the volunteers for preparing dinner. A significant number of guests accompanied CCB members to the meeting. 2. Featured Speaker • Police Chief Ken Thomas was the featured speaker, and some of his staff accompanied him. Chief Thomas had just met with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff, and he relayed information about their policies on 1 Kent Cultural Communities Board Meeting February 28, 2017 Minutes 6:30 p.m. Place: First Christian Church 11717 SE 240th Street, Kent, WA Approval Pending deportation and other immigration issues. He emphasized that he was simply sharing what was told to him, and that KPD is independent of ICE. • Chief Thomas shared a PowerPoint presentation with data points on arrests, average length of imprisonment, etc. (the PowerPoint was emailed to CCB) • Compared to their population percentages, a large number of African American and Latinos are arrested • Chief Thomas discussed how KPD responds to requests to assist ICE-if someone’s life is at risk, KPD will assist • KPD will do what is necessary to keep the community safe • KPD will not agree to be federally deputized and does not ask anyone to verify if he/she is an immigrant • KPD officers are assigned to elementary schools and must visit at least twice weekly • Commander Holmes provides a two-hour orientation to new refugees entering the country (works with World Relief & Jewish Family Service) 3. Suggestions/Questions/Comments from Attendees • CCB should consider helping the community establish a program to help parents talk to their immigrant kids-programs created by traditional society may not resonate with immigrant communities • Does KPD receive training on how to engage with immigrants, refugees, people of color and multicultural populations in Kent? • One of the reasons it is difficult to recruit police officers in immigrant/refugee communities is that people risked their lives to come to the USA, and parents don’t want to put their kids at risk once they arrive here • Another impediment is that the State requires US citizenship for police officers 4. Adjournment At 8:20 p.m., Dinah Wilson adjourned the meeting. Notes taken by: Dinah Wilson 2