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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020/02/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - Community Technology Advisory Commission - RegularCommunity Technology Advisory Commission Feb. 12, 2020 OFFICIAL MINUTES 1. Call to order – roll call Meeting started 6:01 p.m. Present: Bruce Browning, Cindy Hoffman, Theo Pohlen, Abe Levine, Rolf Peterson Absent: Maren Anderson, Mohamed Mohamud Guests: Simon Goldman, Sonya Rippe Staff: John McHugh, Clint Pires, Jacque Smith, Alicia Sojourner 2. Adoption of agenda - Agenda adopted as presented 3. Public comment – no members of the public were in attendance 4. Racial equity presentation: Alicia Sojourner Why is race important to the city? What is the history of race in government? Four staff members currently on race equity team at the city; one more person will be added this summer. The team includes community engagement coordinator, two racial equity and inclusion outreach specialists and racial equity manager. Group discussed the questions of why racial equity and inclusion is important to the city and to boards and commissions. Alicia emphasized that commission members are connected to council and to staff and therefore have influence. It’s important as the commission is thinking about technology and being innovative that it’s important to use a racial equity lens. The Vision 3.0 process in 2017 led to the strategic priority, “St. Louis Park is committed to being a leader in racial equity and inclusion in order to create a more just and inclusive community for all.” The difference between equity and equality was discussed. Action steps for commission: normalize the conversation; build leadership capacity through coalition building; develop/implement institutional change; work with community groups, other government and national organizations to develop policies that advance racial equity. Other steps: create opportunities through commission meetings to have conversations about race; grow awareness about commission history and how inequalities have been created; send/share resources with each other; gain deeper personal awareness; model inclusiveness; and think about who is at your table – and who is missing? The commission thanked Alicia for her presentation. She said their division is a resource and is here to support internally and externally. 5. Approval of minutes a. December 10, 2019, minutes were approved. Browning motioned, Hoffman seconded, all voted in favor of approval. 6. Communications from the chair/commissioners Levine said we’re about where we were last June. We learned a lot from the community input work done with the commission. Hoffman said Darius Gray had suggested touring PCs for People as a way to build relationships. Browning mentioned there were several events at the ROC at which tables could be staffed by commissions; it’s a public presence that’s important. Browning talked about podcasts and could we have a commission podcast. Would that make sense? Levine said could also do a video with John McHugh for community TV. Levine mentioned absences are an issue and that everyone needs to be committed to working as part of the commission. Pires said there is some turnover on the commission and that’s expected as the commission changes its goals. Levine said Pires and Smith have been meeting with consulting companies; the biggest issue is taking that first step. The notion is to have a daylong workshop for the commission to figure itself out. 7. Staff items a. Smart cities workshop planning Pires said a common thread in discussion at cities is the concept of smart cities. We, like other cities, are trying to figure out what that means and what constitutes a smart city. We need to learn more about this concept. He reached out to three consulting groups, two of which didn’t give satisfactory responses to how they might help the city learn about smart cities and how we can be part of it. At a government symposium he ran into a company called Insight. Levine, Pires and Smith met with them. They volunteered to put on a free, all-day workshop for the city. The day will be called Smart Cities 101, around definitions of smart cities, what do they do and how do they align with goals of the city. Discussion was around aligning five strategic priorities with smart cities. Insight will work with us on those five goals and projects that might forward those five goals. That will be the nature of the workshop – gain an understanding of smart cities, look at other examples, identifying projects and concerns around implementation. It was originally talked about doing this workshop with other cities. However to have a manageable conversation and go deeper, need to start with St. Louis Park. A second phase could include surrounding cities. Discussed inviting an observer from surrounding communities, but keep the attendees manageable. The biggest challenge is to find dates that work for attendees, and identifying who should be there around each strategic priority. Will be 20-25 people. Looking at mid-March to mid-April. Levine pointed out there are many holidays in that timeframe. A date hasn’t yet been established. Pires pointed out projects the city has already done, such as wireless meter reading and automatic vehicle locators. Levine said we’ll need to find one project to start with that is discrete and measurable. Pires said also we aren’t finding commissions like ours in other cities. The idea is to leverage technology to improve the lives of community members. Levine asked that everyone in the commission write down dates they are NOT available mid-March to mid-April. Goldman suggested videotaping the session; Pires thought videoconferencing might be a possibility. Levine said we should a find a day we can all be there. Levine sent out a video on the topic of transportation and another article and encourages the commission members to view them. Levine suggested it could be a discussion item at a future meeting. b. Update on cable franchise renewal i. Three focus groups were held Jan. 22-23, about 60 people attended. Information was gathered on four questions and will be compiled into a final report by the consultants. ii. Online survey is open through March 13, currently 300 respondents. c. Feb. 24 annual commission meeting: RSVPs due Feb. 17. Peterson moved, Hoffman seconded to adjourn. Meeting adjourned 7:50 p.m.