2021.01.26 City Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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would have to continue to consider how to bring in more people who are interested and want to improve the variety of experiences people have in New Brighton. Councilmember Axberg stated the Council had the opportunity to use the Inclusivity Commission to lean in further. She discussed her work with the Girls Scouts and noted she has served with the YWCA USA Board. She understood diversity, equity, inclusion and access was important to the community. She commented she came with the belief that ongoing improvement for the City would be key. In addition, it would be important for the City to have specific values in place in order bring specific outcomes to fruition. Councilmember Dunsworth agreed with the statements that have been made. She stated there would be a huge scope for this Commission to address. She hoped this group would be made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds. She believed it would be important for the Council to provide focus as to what issues should be addressed. She feared if things were too broad it would be difficult for this group to reach the Council's desired outcomes. She suggested benchmarking be put in place for this Commission, and perhaps for all Commissions to assist with keeping these groups on task. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas commented intentionality should be measured and charted, while also allowing for deep conversations to be held. She indicated there were a number of ranking organizations that have looked at cities around the country. She suggested these scorecards be considered along with their outcomes. She discussed how diversity, inclusion and equity were defined and how these could possibly be measured in the community. Councilmember Allen believed it would be important for the Council to be intentional and to be inviting people in to participate and share their experiences about different topics. He reported the Council would have to build a network of contacts in order to assist with this. Councilmember Abdulle stated the City had an opportunity to start fresh. He noted this came with the backdrop that Minnesota was one of the worst places when it came to racial disparities. He explained he would like to see the City centering its efforts on race. He indicated another thought he had regarding benchmarking was to first complete an inventory and then setting up some metrics to measure. Councilmember Allen reported the Council would have to take into consideration a COVID phase and post- COVID phase for this Commission. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas supported the Council beginning to build a network for this Commission, even with COVID in place. She believed this would assist the Council with inviting people to meetings in the future. Massopust thanked the Council for their input. He supported the Council beginning to talk about benchmarks. He then summarized the next steps that would be taken by staff and the Council. Worksession adjourned at 6:13 pm Respectfully submitted, Terri Spangrud City Clerk