Commission Meeting Minutes June 27, 2017
Commissioners Present
First District: Howard Sapper*, Dmitra Smith (Vice Chair)
Second District: J. Kevin Jones (Chair)
Third District: Alana Marie Bjorkquist (Officer-at-Large), Akash Kalia,
Carol McHale
Fourth District: Adam Basler, Carmen Cervantes, Rocio Rodriguez*
Fifth District: Marti Estrin
Commissioners Absent:
First District: Terrence-Christopher Patterson
Second District: J.Kevin Jones, Rachel Judkins", Faith Ross
Fifth District: Christopher Kerosky*, Ramon Meraz (Officer-at-Large)
Staff Present: Tracy Cunha, Deputy Clerk
* Commissioner Sapper arrived at 5.49pm; Commissioner Judkins on leave of absence.
- Call to Order – Introductions – Smith
Meeting called to order at 5.45PM.
- Approval of the Agenda – Smith
Approval of the June 27, 2017 AgendaMotion: Commissioner McHale
Second: Commissioner Basler
Ayes: 7
Noes: 0
Absent: 6
Abstained: 1Commissioners Jones, Kerosky, Meraz, Patterson, Ross, and Sapper were absent. Commissioner Smith abstained as Acting-Chair. The motion passed.
- Consent Calendar – Smith
- Approval of the May 23, 2017 Draft Minutes
- Public Comment on Consent Items
- No members of the public addressed the Commission
- Vote on Consent Calendar
Motion to approve the Consent Calendar and May 23, 2017 Draft Minutes
Motion: Commissioner Kalia
Second: Commissioner Bjorkquist
Ayes: 5
Noes: 0
Absent: 6
Abstained: 3Commissioners Jones, Kerosky, Meraz, Patterson, Ross, and Sapper were absent. Commissioners Basler and McHale abstained due to absence. Commissioner Smith abstained as Acting-Chair. The motion passed.
- Public Comment on Non-Agendized Items – Smith
- No members of the public addressed the Commission.
- Regular Calendar – Smith
Discussion and possible action expected on items 4 through 6.- Nominations and Elections for the 2017-2018 Officers – Smith – 7 Minutes
The Chair reopened nominations for the FY2017-2018 term, beginning July 1, 2017. Being no further nominations, the slate as nominated at the May 23, 2017 meeting was accepted unanimously with Commissioner Smith abstaining from the voice vote. The 2017-2018 Commission Officers are:
Chair – Commissioner Jones
Vice Chair – Commissioner Smith
Officer-at-Large – Commissioner Bjorkquist
Officer-at-Large – Commissioner Kalia - Outreach Update – Estrin – 15 Minutes
(Estrin, Kalia, Ross, Sapper)
Commissioner Estrin led an update on the efforts and activities surrounding the outreach campaign of the “Indivisible” Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign. Commissioners discussed sending out the letter created by Outreach. Commissioner Smith led a conversation about changing the name of the campaign to Safe Sonoma County to correlate with the resource page on the Commission’s website. Staff reminded Commissioners to send lists of community contacts for the creation of a distribution list.Commissioner Bjorkquist provided an update on the status of the volunteer program and reported a volunteer had been selected and was working on the creation of the resource page.
- Administrative Items – Jones, Staff – 5
Minutes Staff may provide an update on various county-based, commission-related projects, as well as review other administrative and budgetary items, as needed.- Using Google Docs
Staff briefly discussed the possibility of using Google docs for ad hoc related work. - July Recess
Commissioner Smith proposed a July recess as July is typically a month when most Commissioners are traveling and unavailable, and can be difficult to reach a quorum.Motion to approve a July recess, cancelling the July 25, 2017 meeting
Motion: Commissioner Kalia
Second: Commissioner Bjorkquist
Ayes: 6
Noes: 0
Absent: 5
Abstained: 3Commissioners Jones, Kerosky, Meraz, Patterson, and Ross were absent. Commissioners McHale and Sapper abstained. Commissioner Smith abstained as Acting-Chair. The motion passed.
Commissioner Basler suggested ad hoc committees use this extended break between meetings to draft plans for the new fiscal year.
- Upcoming Training
Staff announced various training that would take place over the next couple of meetings, to include refreshers on the Brown Act and the agenda submittal process.
- Using Google Docs
- Nominations and Elections for the 2017-2018 Officers – Smith – 7 Minutes
- Ad Hoc Committees &Liason Updates – Smith -10 Minutes
- Immigrants’ Rights – Kerosky, Cervantes, Estrin, Meraz, Rodriguez
No report. - Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review & Outreach (IOLERO) – Cervantes, Meraz
No report - Homelessness in Sonoma County – Kalia, Bjorkquist
Kalia announced the Homeless Collective will be bringing back consultants. - Junior Commissioner Project – Smith, McHale, Rodriguez
update on new cohort beginning on August 23.Motion to extend time ten minutes on ad hoc committee & liaison updates
Motion: Commissioner Basler
Second: Commissioner McHale
Ayes: 8
Noes: 0
Absent: 5
Abstained: 1Commissioners Jones, Kerosky, Meraz, Patterson, and Ross were absent. Commissioner Smith abstained as Acting-Chair. The motion passed.
- Legislative Affairs – Patterson, Basler, Smith
Smith regretfully removing herself due to anticipated increased workload of Junior Commissioner Project - LGBTQI Task Force – Jones, McHale, Mera
No report.z - People with Disabilities – Basler, Sapper
Committee still needs to meet - Sonoma County Racial Justice – Liaison – Smith
Smith reported Title VI very much in jeopardy under new White House Administration - Volunteer Coordinator – Bjorkquist, McHale
Previously reported on
- Immigrants’ Rights – Kerosky, Cervantes, Estrin, Meraz, Rodriguez
- Commissioner Announcements/communications With Supervisors/Tabling Opportunities - All - 5 Minutes
- Commissioner Bjorkquist announced receiving a letter from Supervisor Zane thanking the Commission for the work it is doing
- Commissioner Smith announced that Commissioner Judkins requested a four month leave of absence, which was approved by Chair Jones and Supervisor Rabbitt
- Commissioner Rodriguez appealed to Commissioners to contact their Congressional representatives if they held concerns about the current healthcare plan
- Additional Agenda Items fpr Next Commission Meeting - Smith
- Village hosting a launch party for the PSA. Commissioner Bjorkquist asked Sapper to put together outlines for the event for the next meeting
- Commissioner Estrin requested a decision on the Outreach letter
Motion to extend time five minutes on additional agenda items
Motion: Commissioner Bjorkquist
Second: Commissioner Rodriguez
Ayes: 7
Noes: 0
Absent: 5
Abstained: 2Commissioners Jones, Kerosky, Meraz, Patterson, and Ross were absent. Commissioner Basler abstained. Commissioner Smith abstained as Acting-Chair. The motion passed.
- Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 6.50PM.