07/20/2022 - Minutes
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MEETING DATE/TIME: Wednesday, July 20, 2022, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
MEETING LOCATION: Virtual meeting held via Zoom
Members Present
Dave Hanna, Chair
Dolly Specht, Acting Chair
Bijeta Choudhury
Basil Christopher
Heidi Dixon
Ali Haddadi
Isaiah Jackman
Israel Jacquez
Shaila Kotadia
Connie Ramaekers
Isabela Romero
Lauren Rowles
Jairaj Singh
Councilor Newton, Council Liaison
Nicole Hendrix, Team Liaison
Not Present
Kristi Allen
Bhushan Gupta
Christine Rehse
Councilor Jeanette Shaw
City Team Present
Kent Wyatt, Communications Manager
Emily Tritsch, Assistant City Manager
Meeting start: 7:08 pm
City of Tigard
Committee for Community Engagement Minutes
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Welcome and Introductions
Dave welcomed committee members and noted that nearly 50% of members would like to
meet in person. He invited members to keep their cameras on to build connection. Each
committee member introduced themselves and shared summer traditions.
Round Room Updates
Dolly congratulated Kent Wyatt for the Balloon Festival and Nicole Hendrix for the city’s
first Juneteenth event.
Subcommittee Updates
Isaiah shared DEI subcommittee takeaways from their June meeting, he offered to share
notes with all CCE members. The subcommittee would like to know the City’s
communication plan and how the committee can be involved.
Dave noted the importance of subcommittee s and having infrastructure for them.
Consensus from the DEI subcommittee is that more infrastructure is needed. Ali said the
goal and target need to be established before the group starts work. Dave noted it is the
charge of the subcommittee to establish their own goals. Dave said CCE is used as a
sounding board for feedback and testing and should work within the city’s overall mission,
Isiah noted there is nothing established. Dave shared that there is no requirement or set
number of times the subcommittees need to meet. Dave reminded the groups it’s OK that
we are building the foundation and infrastructure to succeed.
Dolly shared historical context of the DEI subcommittee. Liz Newton noted the
subcommittees intersection of community engagement and city’s communicati on. Nicole
and Kent offered to have staff join the subcommittee meetings to answer questions.
There were no updates from the onboarding, communication and digital engagement, and
outreach and volunteerism subcommittee s.
Community Resiliency Plan Update
Dave introduced Assistant City Manager Emily Tritsch to provide updates on engagement
for the Community Resiliency Plan .
Emily shared analytic results of a recent survey related to climate resiliency. Emily shared
that the city will be hosting a speaker series to inform the communi ty of transportation,
energy resources, and more.
CCE members noted and asked about:
• If there are any surprises about the survey?
o Limiting factor for folks is cost. A small level of investment from the city
would incentivize them.
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o Respondents do not think there are incentives that could get them to ride
public transportation.
▪ Basil noted many folks rely on transit, especially those underserved.
There is a need for local transit support in addition to regional transit.
• How do you get feedback from communities of color and get authentic people from
the community?
o There will be recommendations that are vetted by community members and
partners, before to goes to Council. Emily welcomed any ideas for vetting
ideas from the right folks.
• Appreciation for taking this initiative seriously. How do we reach people who are
impacted first and worst?
o Partner with culturally specific organizations and local leaders, one on one
interviews.
• Did the survey cover non-English speakers and collect demographic information? Is
the team building this plan representative of people of color?
o Demographic information was collected from BIPOC groups but not from
advisory group. The consultant group is from Canada and were selected
because of their experience in the area.
• Annual income over $100,000 are the same folks who want funding support. Were
they looking for tax incentives?
o Question didn’t capture the intent so cannot confirm that tax incentive is the
reason why.
• Who is being centered? Need to be the most impacted by climate change.
o Important to come to DEI subcommittee in pre planning stages.
CCE Survey Feedback
Nicole shared the CCE member satisfaction survey results which were included in the
meeting packet. She hopes to do this survey annually. Overall, there is satisfaction with the
group and room for improvement. Key themes include improving communication,
accountability, and participation among members.
Basil asked for more insight on advantages to meeting in person. Israel said there are
benefits to both, but for in person there is more accountability and engagement when in
person. He suggested alternating between in person and virtual meetings. Bijeta s uggested
we build trust in between meetings because communication gaps can happen virtually.
Isabela supports a hybrid model. Nicole noted that hybrid is not currently an option due to
limited I.T. staff support. Nicole will send out another preference link in advance of the
meeting. Councilor Newton suggested the in-person option and what people can expect
safety wise. Dolly noted that covid is on the rise, so we need to keep that in mind.
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Nicole asked about how to formalize commitment. Nicole asked if it would be helpful to
have a CCE event calendar. CCE said yes. Dave said we do need a sense of obligation and
that calendar can be that tool.
Subcommittees don’t have staff support for notes, logistics, etc. They are happy to join the
conversation and provide information.
Meeting Minutes
Dolly made the motion, Basil seconded. Minutes from March 2022 were approved
unanimously.
Open Agenda
Connie suggested open communication with Nicole if members are having any limitations to
participate. Nicole is available and encourages members to reach out.
Nicole shared that she ordered name tags for all CCE members.
Meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m.