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would have to continue to consider how to bring in more people who are interested and want to improve the <br /> variety of experiences people have in New Brighton. <br /> Councilmember Axberg stated the Council had the opportunity to use the Inclusivity Commission to lean in <br /> further. She discussed her work with the Girls Scouts and noted she has served with the YWCA USA Board. <br /> She understood diversity, equity, inclusion and access was important to the community. She commented she <br /> came with the belief that ongoing improvement for the City would be key. In addition, it would be important <br /> for the City to have specific values in place in order bring specific outcomes to fruition. <br /> Councilmember Dunsworth agreed with the statements that have been made. She stated there would be a huge <br /> scope for this Commission to address. She hoped this group would be made up of individuals with diverse <br /> backgrounds. She believed it would be important for the Council to provide focus as to what issues should be <br /> addressed. She feared if things were too broad it would be difficult for this group to reach the Council's <br /> desired outcomes. She suggested benchmarking be put in place for this Commission, and perhaps for all <br /> Commissions to assist with keeping these groups on task. <br /> Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas commented intentionality should be measured and charted, while also allowing <br /> for deep conversations to be held. She indicated there were a number of ranking organizations that have looked <br /> at cities around the country. She suggested these scorecards be considered along with their outcomes. <br /> She discussed how diversity, inclusion and equity were defined and how these could possibly be measured <br /> in the community. <br /> Councilmember Allen believed it would be important for the Council to be intentional and to be inviting <br /> people in to participate and share their experiences about different topics. He reported the Council would have <br /> to build a network of contacts in order to assist with this. <br /> Councilmember Abdulle stated the City had an opportunity to start fresh. He noted this came with the <br /> backdrop that Minnesota was one of the worst places when it came to racial disparities. He explained he would <br /> like to see the City centering its efforts on race. He indicated another thought he had regarding benchmarking <br /> was to first complete an inventory and then setting up some metrics to measure. <br /> Councilmember Allen reported the Council would have to take into consideration a COVID phase and post- <br /> COVID phase for this Commission. <br /> Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas supported the Council beginning to build a network for this Commission, even with <br /> COVID in place. She believed this would assist the Council with inviting people to meetings in the future. <br /> Massopust thanked the Council for their input. He supported the Council beginning to talk about benchmarks. <br /> He then summarized the next steps that would be taken by staff and the Council. <br /> Worksession adjourned at 6:13 pm <br /> Respectfully submitted, <br /> \t/.6.66L, qitere.406 <br /> Terri Spangrud <br /> City Clerk <br />