Minutes March 14, 2019

Commissioners Present
First District: Joanne M. Brown
Second District: Trisha Almond (Chair), Karen Langdon, Caitlin Quinn
Third District: Jennifer Whyte (Officer-at-Large)
Fourth District: Leticia Padilla, Betsy Connolly 
Fifth District: Lorena Barrera (Vice-Chair), Ariana Diaz De Leon

Commissioners Absent
First District: Jan Blalock
Fourth District: Dianna MacDonald
Fifth District: Jessica Wood
* On Leave of Absence

1. CALL TO ORDER – INTRODUCTIONS – MISSION STATEMENT
   Chair Almond called the meeting to order at 6:04PM
2. APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 14, 2019 AGENDA 
   
   Motion to approve the March 14, 2019 Agenda
   
   Motion: Commissioner Quinn
   Second: Commissioner Whyte
   
   Ayes:  7          Noes: 0            Absent: 4           Abstained: 1
    
   Commissioners Blalock, MacDonald and Wood were absent. Commissioner Connolly did not vote due to arriving tardy. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.
   
   The motion passed.
3. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 21^st MEETING MINUTES
   
   Motion to approve the February 21, 2019 Draft Minutes
   
   Motion: Commissioner Whyte
   Second: Commissioner Quinn
   
   Ayes: 7           Noes: 0           Absent: 4           Abstained: 1
   
   Commissioners Blalock, MacDonald and Wood were absent. Commissioner Connolly did not vote due to arriving tardy. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair. 
   
   The motion passed.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDIZED ITEMS
   No members from the public addressed the commission.
5. COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMUNICATIONS WITH SUPERVISORS / TABLING OPPORTUNITIES
   1. Rabbi Ted – Chair Almond and Commissioner Quinn briefly spoke about their experience on participating in the show.
   2. Farmers Markets – Chair Almond reminded everyone to begin considering whether CSW would be tabling at any farmers markets.
   3. Commissioner Padilla informed the Commission that the Fourth District commissioners would be meeting with Supervisor Gore. 
   4. Commissioner Diaz De Leon informed the commission about the annual Mochilada event held in Roseland and stated she would provide more details about the event in case the Commission decided to participate.
6. OPENINGS AND APPOINTMENTS
   Chair Almond reported that there are now two openings in the Third District and one in the First District.
7. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS
   Ms. Ronda Blalock thanked the Commission for the support provided at The Vagina Monologues / One Billion Rising event held on February 14^th. She stated it was a really successful event.
8. REGULAR CALENDAR ITEMS
   Discussion and possible action on item 1.
   1. Report on Administrative Responsibilities  
      Chair Almond informed the Commission that there is a possibility of expanding presence on different social media platforms thanks to the County Social Media Policy. Due to the policy not being included in the packet, Chair Almond suggested commissioners review the policy in next month’s agenda packet and have a discussion on the policy in the next commission meeting.
      
      Commissioner Whyte addressed the commission on the matter of having efficient meetings, specifically discussing the possibility of establishing a procedure for items that require a vote. There was discussion between commissioners and different ideas were suggested. In conclusion, the commissioners decided to discuss items prior to making motions, even if it requires several motions being made.
      
      Commissioners also shared their thoughts on the idea of authorizing CSW officers to approve purchases or transactions, including donations, when the amount is $500 or less.
      
      Motion to authorize CSW officers to approve purchases or transactions, including donation requests, when the amount is $500 or less.
      
      Motion: Commissioner Quinn
      Second: Commissioner Brown
      
      Ayes:  8               Noes: 0               Absent: 3               Abstained: 1
      
      Commissioners Blalock, MacDonald and Wood were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.
      
      The motion passed.
9. AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT COMMITTEE UPDATES
   Committee members will provide brief updates only. Updates are not up for discussion.
   1. Ad Hoc Committees
      • Empowerment Ad Hoc – The ad hoc reported on their upcoming scheduled workshops and how they are thinking of running the workshops.
      • Marketing Ad Hoc – The ad hoc mentioned they have been brainstorming ideas on slogans that would relate to the Commission. They also updated the Commission on their advertising efforts and provided some statistics on those efforts.  
        
        Unrelated to the ad-hoc report, Commissioner Brown asked whether questions and discussions could be made on the reports provided in this section of the agenda. The officers informed the Commission that the “Ad Hoc Committee and Project Committee Updates” section of the agenda was intended for reporting only since the officers have a practice to remind the commissioners and ad hocs to submit any items they would like to have included in the “Regular Calendar Items” section of the agenda where items are can be discussed and possible actions, can be made. Officers send out reminders on a monthly basis. Furthermore, the Officers informed the Commission that it was previous practice to have ad hocs submit a written report that would be included in the agenda and at the meeting, commissioners would have the opportunity to ask questions on those written reports.    
      
      Motion to extend time for 5 additional minutes        
      
      Motion: Commissioner Brown               
      Second: Commissioner Quinn
      
      Ayes: 8       Noes: 0      Absent: 3     Abstained: 1
      
      Commissioners Blalock, MacDonald and Wood were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.
      
      The motion passed.    
      
      Commissioner Brown expressed her displeasure and disagreement with this process and stated she believed the fact that the “Ad Hoc Committee and Project Committee Updates” section of the agenda, in its current form, where no discussion is scheduled to take place, prevented commissioners from having the opportunity to share their thoughts. 
      
      Motion to extend time for 10 additional minutes         
      
      Motion: Commissioner Brown               
      Second: Commissioner Connolly              
      
      Ayes:  8       Noes: 0      Absent: 3     Abstained: 1
      
      Commissioners Blalock, MacDonald and Wood were absent. Commissioner Almond abstained as Chair.
      
      The motion passed.  
      
      After much discussion on this matter with the Commission, it was concluded that this section of the agenda would no longer be labeled as an ‘updates only’ section.  
      • Women’s Voices – Commissioner Whyte provided a brief update on the listening session held at the Women’s Detention Center. She also spoke about the current efforts being made to schedule another listening session.
   2. Junior Commissioner Project Committee – Commissioners Diaz De Leon and Padilla mentioned the scheduled interview dates for next year’s Junior Commissioners. They also shared a list with those dates and asked commissioners willing to assist with the interviews, to sign up. Lastly, they reminded commissioners about the upcoming field trip, career panel and graduation ceremony.
10. COMMUNITY ISSUES, LIAISONS, AND COORDINATORS – 10 minutes
    Program development updates not included above only. Items not up for discussion.
    • ACCW updates - Chair Almond provided information on the upcoming ACCW Conference being held in San Jose.
    • Field Trip Ideas - Commissioner Whyte mentioned that there is an offer to tour the women’s jail. Only one commissioner expressed interest.
    • Human Trafficking Task Force – Nothing to report at this time
    • Legislative Advisory Group – Nothing to report at this time
    • NWHA – Commissioner Brown and Connolly reported that there are different counties working on different things. However, they also mentioned it seems to be difficult to make progress in the group due to it being so large.
    • Sonoma County 2020 Centennial Coalition - Nothing to report at this time. Additionally, Chair Almond reported that Commissioner Blalock has stepped back from working on this project. 
    • Speaker Coordinator – Commissioner Quinn confirmed a guest speaker from Verity would be speaking at the April meeting and Chair Almond reported that she is working on confirming a guest speaker for the May meeting.
11. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING
    Proposal, discussion, and possible action items for next Commission meeting.
    • Reminder of officer nominations
12. ADJOURNMENT
    The meeting was adjourned at 6:59PM