SISTER CITIES TASKFORCE
May 7, 2019 Agenda
Cathedral City Library
Goals for today’s meeting:
1. Identify if the Task Force members are interested in assuming full leadership of the Sister Cities program;
The Sister Cities program was designed to be a Task Force lead committee. Under Fire Chief Paul Wilson and Stone James’s leadership, the following has been accomplished:
- Organized and executed a planning retreat, run by a local strategic planning and leadership professional, to identify the task force’s vision, mission, and goals;
- Identified and agreed upon core focus areas of the Task Force. These focus areas are;
- Tourism & Economic Development;
- Educational and Cultural Exchanges; and
- Humanitarian work.
- Joined Sister Cities International;
- Raised $1,200.00 from private donors,
- Secured $10,000 in seed-capital from the City Council,
- Created an operational and informative website,
- Took an orienting trip to Tequila, and established relationships with Tequila’s new Mayor, and Council.
- Identified Councilmember Adrian Salina Mora as a responsive (and bilingual) representative and partner within Tequila.
- Provided humanitarian aid:
- Personal donations of new and like-new medical and rescue equipment from Stone James to Tequila FD;
- Pending donation of fire safety equipment from Cathedral City FD;
- Pending donation of police safety equipment from the PD, private police safety equipment manufacturers, and plans to provide law enforcement safety and tactics training to Tequila police department members;
- Identified the following steps to be taken for the program to continue:
- Increase the number of Cathedral City residents and businesses affiliated with, and working on behalf of the task force;
- Explore Cathedral City High School student and Choir exchange programs;
- Identify other countries/cities which are more economically similar to Cathedral City which would allow the task force and City the opportunity to build a mutually beneficial relationship;