MINUTES
| INDIGENOUS COMMISSION VIRTUAL TEAMS MEETING 211 WEST ASPEN AVENUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022, 11:00 A.M. |
1.
Call to Order
Co-chair Washington called the meeting to order at 11:15 AM.
Co-chair Washington called the meeting to order at 11:15 AM.
2.
Roll Call
| NOTE: One or more Commission Members may be in attendance telephonically or by other technological means. |
| Diana Cudeii, Ex-Officio; Excused Absence Dorothy Gishie, Ex-Officio; Present Meg Kabotie Adakai, E-Officio; Present, joined at 12:23pm Cora M. Phillips, Co-Chair; Excused Absence Joe. W. Washington, Co-Chair; Present Darrell Marks; Absent Fawn Toya; Present Kiara Weathersby; Present Shawna Whitehat; Present Jonathan Yellowhair; Present, joined at 12:00pm |
|
Others present: Councilmember Adam Shimoni, Council Liaison; Rose Toehe, Staff Liaison. Presenters: Greg Clifton, City Manager; Kate Jones, Executive Director of Telluride Arts District; Sara Dechter, Comprehensive & Neighborhood Planning Manager; Judge Dan Slayton, Coconino County Superior Court Division II; Guests: Vice Mayor Miranda Sweet; Mark Reavis; Chris Jocks; Jana L. Weldon; Travis Alexander Pinn; Julie Roddy; Marion Lee; Michelle J. McNulty. |
A.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Flagstaff City Council humbly acknowledges the ancestral homelands of this area’s Indigenous nations and original stewards. These lands, still inhabited by Native descendants, border mountains sacred to Indigenous peoples. We honor them, their legacies, their traditions, and their continued contributions. We celebrate their past, present, and future generations who will forever know this place as home.
3.
Public Comment
At this time, any member of the public may address the Commission on any subject within their jurisdiction that is not scheduled before the Commission on that day. Due to Open Meeting Laws, the Commission cannot discuss or act on items presented during this portion of the agenda. To address the Commission on an item that is on the agenda, please wait for the Chair to call for Public Comment at the time the item is heard. (Five minutes maximum per speaker)
Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts and Sciences Project Administrator, provided a short presentation about the Indigenous Art project in collaboration with Coconino County Parks and Recreation. She will present a detail presentation at the May 4, 2022 meeting.
Commissioner Weathersby also thanked everyone who attended the listening sessions for Northern Arizona University's strategic road map. She also shared the link for the third draft and encouraged others to participate with comments. She pointed out the acknowledgement of Indigenous people and their unique legal status and NAU's commitment to Indigenous people.
After Public Comment completed, Staff Liaison Toehe introduced all Commissioners to presenters and guests.
At this time, any member of the public may address the Commission on any subject within their jurisdiction that is not scheduled before the Commission on that day. Due to Open Meeting Laws, the Commission cannot discuss or act on items presented during this portion of the agenda. To address the Commission on an item that is on the agenda, please wait for the Chair to call for Public Comment at the time the item is heard. (Five minutes maximum per speaker)
Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts and Sciences Project Administrator, provided a short presentation about the Indigenous Art project in collaboration with Coconino County Parks and Recreation. She will present a detail presentation at the May 4, 2022 meeting.
Commissioner Weathersby also thanked everyone who attended the listening sessions for Northern Arizona University's strategic road map. She also shared the link for the third draft and encouraged others to participate with comments. She pointed out the acknowledgement of Indigenous people and their unique legal status and NAU's commitment to Indigenous people.
After Public Comment completed, Staff Liaison Toehe introduced all Commissioners to presenters and guests.
4.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A.
Approval of Minutes for March 2, 2022
Motion to approve Minutes as is or approve with amendments.
Co-chair Washington moved this agenda item to the end of the agenda. At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Weathersby motioned to approve the Minutes as is. Commissioner Whitehat seconded. It was passed unanimously.
Motion to approve Minutes as is or approve with amendments.
Co-chair Washington moved this agenda item to the end of the agenda. At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Weathersby motioned to approve the Minutes as is. Commissioner Whitehat seconded. It was passed unanimously.
5.
GENERAL BUSINESS
None at this time.
None at this time.
6.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
A.
Refurbished City Building.
A presentation to be provided on the effort to protect, preserve, and purchase the Telluride Transfer Warehouse, a National Historic Landmark building in Telluride's historic downtown. The presentation will be conducted by Kate Jones, Executive Director of the Telluride Arts District. Kate will introduce Commissioners and attendees to the journey of refurbishing this building and how it is utilized today. PPT will be sent to the Commission on 4/5/22 and will also be shared at the meeting.
City Manager spoke of a unique opportunity regarding the work that took place in Telluride, CO where a historic building was refurbished and is currently used as an art venue in the Arts District. City Manager Clifton thought it was a good story for the Commissioners to hear as it was about an old vacant and dilapidated building. It is about how this building took its journey, was refurbished and re-purposed for beneficial use to the community. The story applies and parallels to Flagstaff as we are now in the process of the community vetting an old dormant public works facility and the surrounding acreage. City Manager disclosed that while the Flagstaff public works building has high interest to be a future Indigenous Community Cultural Center, "the presentation makes no presumptions as to the outcome of the community vetting that's underway, but offered more as inspiration".
City Manager Clifton introduced Ms. Kate Jones and spoke of her experience. Ms. Jones shared the importance of collaboration and support of leadership and partners. Having a visionary leadership will get important projects accomplished. Ms. Jones started her presentation with a land acknowledgement for her area in Colorado; thereafter, a PPT presentation was provided which started with an explanation of the transfer warehouse built in 1907 and is located in heart of the community. Telluride CO was a mining community when it was established and was a central transportation hub of the region. Today, Telluride is a ski resort. The PPT showed images of how the building looked when her team decided to refurbish it about 10 years ago. The roof had collapsed in 1979. The team started with a community-wide cultural master plan that identified the desire of the community for an Art Center. The State's Art Commission and other partners started pulling together and explored possibilities. The governor, town manager, stakeholders, and partners all helped. Also taking the time to dream about the space and bringing people into the space to talk about what's possible.
The presentation showed the progress of the planning, financial aspect of the property, and showing the building. The first $10,000 grant was received for planning. The National Trust for historic preservation gave a small grant of about $10,000. The National Endowment for the Arts may be appropriate to look into, as the town supported planning and supported initial architectural drawings. Colorado Historic Trust was also a great resource for restoration, they gave $250,000.00 to help restore stonework, the team is hopeful to get more funding from them moving into the final preservation. The National Endowment for the Arts gave an Arts Project Grant, which helped activate the space with an art installation. The team also received a community revitalization grant, a new program, a COVID response, facilitated by the Colorado Creative Industries and the Department of Local Affairs who had been partners for about 10 years and was able to secure a $3,000,000 grant (partners are very important).
The building was a very high profile project and the team came to the table with a design. They also planned an architect competition and talked a lot about the design. The design needed to move forward with the development agreements. The plans were rolling when COVID hit and left with a great space and no roof. The board conducted a fast internal fundraiser, invested in the space improvements, opened and activated the warehouse to be the main hub for community activity through COVID closures. The one place that stayed open except for the winters and found themselves in a unique situation offering opportunity for outside venues. This became more meaningful to the community. They also had to fight for the space and protect the vision that they worked so hard to establish within community planning, because the new condos built right next door and the owners tried to undermine the project. The experience through the pandemic caused the group to change gears on their design and are going with preserving the magic of the ruin, its magical character. Currently, Ms. Jones and her team are in the middle of fundraising $20,000,000 and have about $8,000,000 towards that goal.
Ms. Jones fielded questions. City Manager Clifton, asked about being adaptive and flexible in the journey and to share her experience. "Flexibility is the rule of the game and it's a really important part of our journey. Example, we had to work from different offices due to flooding. We had 52 planning meetings with our board just about design and use. We had lots of community participation with design. There's been hundreds and hundreds of community hours for this project. Everyone had to pivot during COVID and we just happen to have this remarkable opportunity to serve our community in a much bigger way. Expect to be blindsided, to constantly listen, be responsive, change will also happen.."
Councilmember Shimoni, Commissioner Toya, Co-chair Washington, Vice-Mayor Sweet, Jana Weldon, Staff Liaison Toehe, and other guests expressed appreciation for the presentation. Vice-Mayor Sweet stated she had visited the space and found it to be incredible and so inspiring that it had became a gathering place. She also provided encouragement to the Commission and guests that it is possible to transform a place. Ms. Weldon has also visited this Telluride space. She wanted the Indigenous Commission to know that should the direction of an ICCC comes out for the Thorpe Park Annex parcel, their program is ready to step up with some funding and really hopes it goes that direction and they would be ready to be a partner. Commissioner Whitehat asked about the more difficult stuff of the process. Ms. Jones answered with having to be very strategic. It is important to have strong visionary leadership and a master plan. Create community meetings and work closely with partners to build a strong foundation and build in protections for the longevity of the space. Be connected to your community and to your purpose.
The overall summary is that the presentation was relevant in the area of refurbishing a historic building, having leadership support, community support, and in our case Indigenous voice being involved in all aspects. Indigenous involvement in the context of planning for what they would like to have, what they like to see within the community for community, and having a space as a gathering place based on Indigenous cultural planning.
A presentation to be provided on the effort to protect, preserve, and purchase the Telluride Transfer Warehouse, a National Historic Landmark building in Telluride's historic downtown. The presentation will be conducted by Kate Jones, Executive Director of the Telluride Arts District. Kate will introduce Commissioners and attendees to the journey of refurbishing this building and how it is utilized today. PPT will be sent to the Commission on 4/5/22 and will also be shared at the meeting.
City Manager spoke of a unique opportunity regarding the work that took place in Telluride, CO where a historic building was refurbished and is currently used as an art venue in the Arts District. City Manager Clifton thought it was a good story for the Commissioners to hear as it was about an old vacant and dilapidated building. It is about how this building took its journey, was refurbished and re-purposed for beneficial use to the community. The story applies and parallels to Flagstaff as we are now in the process of the community vetting an old dormant public works facility and the surrounding acreage. City Manager disclosed that while the Flagstaff public works building has high interest to be a future Indigenous Community Cultural Center, "the presentation makes no presumptions as to the outcome of the community vetting that's underway, but offered more as inspiration".
City Manager Clifton introduced Ms. Kate Jones and spoke of her experience. Ms. Jones shared the importance of collaboration and support of leadership and partners. Having a visionary leadership will get important projects accomplished. Ms. Jones started her presentation with a land acknowledgement for her area in Colorado; thereafter, a PPT presentation was provided which started with an explanation of the transfer warehouse built in 1907 and is located in heart of the community. Telluride CO was a mining community when it was established and was a central transportation hub of the region. Today, Telluride is a ski resort. The PPT showed images of how the building looked when her team decided to refurbish it about 10 years ago. The roof had collapsed in 1979. The team started with a community-wide cultural master plan that identified the desire of the community for an Art Center. The State's Art Commission and other partners started pulling together and explored possibilities. The governor, town manager, stakeholders, and partners all helped. Also taking the time to dream about the space and bringing people into the space to talk about what's possible.
The presentation showed the progress of the planning, financial aspect of the property, and showing the building. The first $10,000 grant was received for planning. The National Trust for historic preservation gave a small grant of about $10,000. The National Endowment for the Arts may be appropriate to look into, as the town supported planning and supported initial architectural drawings. Colorado Historic Trust was also a great resource for restoration, they gave $250,000.00 to help restore stonework, the team is hopeful to get more funding from them moving into the final preservation. The National Endowment for the Arts gave an Arts Project Grant, which helped activate the space with an art installation. The team also received a community revitalization grant, a new program, a COVID response, facilitated by the Colorado Creative Industries and the Department of Local Affairs who had been partners for about 10 years and was able to secure a $3,000,000 grant (partners are very important).
The building was a very high profile project and the team came to the table with a design. They also planned an architect competition and talked a lot about the design. The design needed to move forward with the development agreements. The plans were rolling when COVID hit and left with a great space and no roof. The board conducted a fast internal fundraiser, invested in the space improvements, opened and activated the warehouse to be the main hub for community activity through COVID closures. The one place that stayed open except for the winters and found themselves in a unique situation offering opportunity for outside venues. This became more meaningful to the community. They also had to fight for the space and protect the vision that they worked so hard to establish within community planning, because the new condos built right next door and the owners tried to undermine the project. The experience through the pandemic caused the group to change gears on their design and are going with preserving the magic of the ruin, its magical character. Currently, Ms. Jones and her team are in the middle of fundraising $20,000,000 and have about $8,000,000 towards that goal.
Ms. Jones fielded questions. City Manager Clifton, asked about being adaptive and flexible in the journey and to share her experience. "Flexibility is the rule of the game and it's a really important part of our journey. Example, we had to work from different offices due to flooding. We had 52 planning meetings with our board just about design and use. We had lots of community participation with design. There's been hundreds and hundreds of community hours for this project. Everyone had to pivot during COVID and we just happen to have this remarkable opportunity to serve our community in a much bigger way. Expect to be blindsided, to constantly listen, be responsive, change will also happen.."
Councilmember Shimoni, Commissioner Toya, Co-chair Washington, Vice-Mayor Sweet, Jana Weldon, Staff Liaison Toehe, and other guests expressed appreciation for the presentation. Vice-Mayor Sweet stated she had visited the space and found it to be incredible and so inspiring that it had became a gathering place. She also provided encouragement to the Commission and guests that it is possible to transform a place. Ms. Weldon has also visited this Telluride space. She wanted the Indigenous Commission to know that should the direction of an ICCC comes out for the Thorpe Park Annex parcel, their program is ready to step up with some funding and really hopes it goes that direction and they would be ready to be a partner. Commissioner Whitehat asked about the more difficult stuff of the process. Ms. Jones answered with having to be very strategic. It is important to have strong visionary leadership and a master plan. Create community meetings and work closely with partners to build a strong foundation and build in protections for the longevity of the space. Be connected to your community and to your purpose.
The overall summary is that the presentation was relevant in the area of refurbishing a historic building, having leadership support, community support, and in our case Indigenous voice being involved in all aspects. Indigenous involvement in the context of planning for what they would like to have, what they like to see within the community for community, and having a space as a gathering place based on Indigenous cultural planning.
B.
Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), Coconino County
Judge Slayton will be our guest and will provide a presentation on the CJCC and its current work. Since 1984, Judge Slayton’s professional career in the justice system has given him an expansive view of juvenile, adult, and family issues impacting our communities and state. Judge Slayton will explain the coordination between the City and the County. He will also go over some of the work related to the latest CJCC's Strategic Plan and its relationship to Indigenous communities.
Judge Dan Slayton came to provide a brief update on the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) in Coconino County. One of the things that has been done over the last two years is reevaluating the focus of the CJCC and has been engaging in some self introspection as to areas that CJCC has been lax in addressing. One of the things that has been decided at the CJCC Executive Committee was to pull those areas up. The area not focused directly upon was Native Americans who find themselves in the Coconino County criminal justice system.
In addressing this issue, the CJCC revised and put forward new bylaws and formed the Indigenous Initiatives Subcommittee which Ms. Toehe is a part of. There is still opportunity for individuals to serve on this committee. Judge Slayton also named some of the subcommittee members who have strong ties to the county and would like to recruit more Indigenous individuals to address the various areas of the County criminal justice system. CJCC has been looking at possibly having a representative from the Navajo Nation Supreme Court or tribal courts, this would be beneficial. Ms. Toehe has recruitment messaging out for the subcommittee, including recruiting an elected Indigenous person from either the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or another area Indigenous Nation. Recruitment is in process; however, many of the nations have been busy with ARPA funds planning.
Judge Slayton covered some of the CJCC strategic plan. One aspect was the initiating of navigator/s within the justice system which relates to Native American and others who come into the court system (city court, justice or superior court), who do not speak English or is not their primary language, and coming into a culture that is not their own. The legal culture can be intimidating, so CJCC is hoping to provide navigators to assist those who go in and have a need to understand the court system and go through the proper channels to get their situations addressed. An example given was with tenants and evictions, how COVID-19 caused change and confusion. Supervisor Fowler, Ms. Toehe, and others requested the expansion of assistance within the court system, especially for folks who may primarily speak Navajo or their Native language to navigate the system. This will also improve the courts' reputation among Native American citizens as well as improve participation into a system that can be difficult. Currently that is one person doing this work and hopeful for two more with some ARPA funds. CJCC wants to learn more about issues facing Native American citizens and work to improve processes; discussing how to improve confidence and trust in the judicial system. Ms. Toehe added that this process includes city courts as well. There is also a plan to utilize ARPA funds to address a mental health court which could include establishing an outpatient in county Restoration to Competency program, keeping the people in their communities as they work on their treatment.
Co-chair Washington also asked about the part-time judges and the vetting of judicial appointments. He had learned that the committee that provided this in the past did not have Indigenous people on the committee. Given the names of the Indigenous people on the new Indigenous Initiatives committee, there could be some effort made to that committee to vet possible judges for appointment. Judge Slayton replied stating that was a process they are working on along with the Board of Supervisors (BOS). For the selection of judges it is his intention to have Native American representation. The BOS did approve a new superior court division and it will have a new Pro Tem judge. Another area of further participation is when an elected judge retires as the county is under the merit selection retention election. It important to solicit Native American representation on the merit selection committee. Judge Slayton will be retiring the beginning of 2024; thereafter Judge Nichols will retire in 2024. These will be important changes to be aware of.
Co-chair Washington also asked about the possibility of having a drug court at city courts and would both Judge Slayton and City Manager Clifton comment. Co-chair Washington stated that the drug court at Yavapai Apache Nation has been very effective for those with substance addictions. City Manager Clifton stated he would be glad to orchestrate that discussion and would need to identify stakeholders. Judge Slayton stated he is in favor of anything that will keep people out of jail, keep people sober, and working with their families. He would refer this conversation to Judge Reed who oversees the Recovery Court and Jesse Heath, the coordinator. It was suggested that Judge Reed should be invited to a future meeting to discuss drug court.
Judge Slayton will be our guest and will provide a presentation on the CJCC and its current work. Since 1984, Judge Slayton’s professional career in the justice system has given him an expansive view of juvenile, adult, and family issues impacting our communities and state. Judge Slayton will explain the coordination between the City and the County. He will also go over some of the work related to the latest CJCC's Strategic Plan and its relationship to Indigenous communities.
Judge Dan Slayton came to provide a brief update on the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) in Coconino County. One of the things that has been done over the last two years is reevaluating the focus of the CJCC and has been engaging in some self introspection as to areas that CJCC has been lax in addressing. One of the things that has been decided at the CJCC Executive Committee was to pull those areas up. The area not focused directly upon was Native Americans who find themselves in the Coconino County criminal justice system.
In addressing this issue, the CJCC revised and put forward new bylaws and formed the Indigenous Initiatives Subcommittee which Ms. Toehe is a part of. There is still opportunity for individuals to serve on this committee. Judge Slayton also named some of the subcommittee members who have strong ties to the county and would like to recruit more Indigenous individuals to address the various areas of the County criminal justice system. CJCC has been looking at possibly having a representative from the Navajo Nation Supreme Court or tribal courts, this would be beneficial. Ms. Toehe has recruitment messaging out for the subcommittee, including recruiting an elected Indigenous person from either the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or another area Indigenous Nation. Recruitment is in process; however, many of the nations have been busy with ARPA funds planning.
Judge Slayton covered some of the CJCC strategic plan. One aspect was the initiating of navigator/s within the justice system which relates to Native American and others who come into the court system (city court, justice or superior court), who do not speak English or is not their primary language, and coming into a culture that is not their own. The legal culture can be intimidating, so CJCC is hoping to provide navigators to assist those who go in and have a need to understand the court system and go through the proper channels to get their situations addressed. An example given was with tenants and evictions, how COVID-19 caused change and confusion. Supervisor Fowler, Ms. Toehe, and others requested the expansion of assistance within the court system, especially for folks who may primarily speak Navajo or their Native language to navigate the system. This will also improve the courts' reputation among Native American citizens as well as improve participation into a system that can be difficult. Currently that is one person doing this work and hopeful for two more with some ARPA funds. CJCC wants to learn more about issues facing Native American citizens and work to improve processes; discussing how to improve confidence and trust in the judicial system. Ms. Toehe added that this process includes city courts as well. There is also a plan to utilize ARPA funds to address a mental health court which could include establishing an outpatient in county Restoration to Competency program, keeping the people in their communities as they work on their treatment.
Co-chair Washington also asked about the part-time judges and the vetting of judicial appointments. He had learned that the committee that provided this in the past did not have Indigenous people on the committee. Given the names of the Indigenous people on the new Indigenous Initiatives committee, there could be some effort made to that committee to vet possible judges for appointment. Judge Slayton replied stating that was a process they are working on along with the Board of Supervisors (BOS). For the selection of judges it is his intention to have Native American representation. The BOS did approve a new superior court division and it will have a new Pro Tem judge. Another area of further participation is when an elected judge retires as the county is under the merit selection retention election. It important to solicit Native American representation on the merit selection committee. Judge Slayton will be retiring the beginning of 2024; thereafter Judge Nichols will retire in 2024. These will be important changes to be aware of.
Co-chair Washington also asked about the possibility of having a drug court at city courts and would both Judge Slayton and City Manager Clifton comment. Co-chair Washington stated that the drug court at Yavapai Apache Nation has been very effective for those with substance addictions. City Manager Clifton stated he would be glad to orchestrate that discussion and would need to identify stakeholders. Judge Slayton stated he is in favor of anything that will keep people out of jail, keep people sober, and working with their families. He would refer this conversation to Judge Reed who oversees the Recovery Court and Jesse Heath, the coordinator. It was suggested that Judge Reed should be invited to a future meeting to discuss drug court.
C.
Flagstaff Regional Plan Update
The project team from Community Development will provide an overview of the current status of the Flagstaff Regional Plan. Jordan Hollinger, Mark Reavis, and Sara Dechter are the team members. The project team will go over the plan to engage the Commission to learn about the Regional Plan. They will cover a range of topics as an introductory, including the vision, goals, and policies, as well as areas where there are opportunities for robust Indigenous representation/input.
Ms. Sara Dechter, Comprehensive & Neighborhood Planning Manager from Community Development, shared a presentation about the Flagstaff Regional Plan. The city has started an important project which is to update the Flagstaff Regional Plan. Ms. Dechter stated, it was not just any old document but it is actually the only policy document, besides the City Charter, that is sent to voters in Flagstaff as required by state statute. It was last adopted in 2014 and every 10 years it is updated. The Regional Plan sits at the top of this hierarchy of planning documents. Commissions hear about plans, such as the carbon neutrality plans, water master plans, active transportation master plans, and the Southside plan & Plaza Vieja plan, these are examples of the many that fall under the umbrella of the Regional Plan. These are just more specific to subject and areas. From these more specific implementation are formed including zoning codes, engineering standards, and the capital improvement plans. So this document is very important to the community and during the budget process, these plans are taken into consideration and feeds into the general plan. The Regional Plan is adopted across two jurisdictions in Flagstaff. This is called a general plan, it is what the state statute calls it. It goes to the voters and ratified every 10 years and it supports several kinds of decisions. Most importantly planning for land use, 100 year water supply designation, transportation, etc., but it also serves as a guide for policymaking citywide; however, it is not a mandate against development or the same as the zoning ordinance. It is a document that evolves so it can and does change.
The public creating the last regional plan, called the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030, asked her team to make sure the document holds the government accountable for publicly derived policies and outcomes and that it guides fiscal and economic development priorities. The plan has done some of these things very well and some of them not so well, so there is plenty of room for improvement and growth in our community to have a document that serves everyone well and meets the community's vision. The Regional Plan is very extensive with 97 goals and 508 policies. There is no prioritization between them and it is one of the reasons it may not be as effective as it could be. For example, someone could put something forward as a proposal and there could be part of the plan that allows for it to go forward; however, in another part of the plan that could cause wait time or delays.
Ms. Dechter explained, when it comes to Indigenous people in our community, the plan has a very limited lens in looking at the community's relationship and there are only three (3) policies that discuss Indigenous people. It was pointed out that because the process took too long that many of the Indigenous participants left the process and didn't feel like there was a place for them at the table. So the efforts that were made early on regarding inclusion really fell apart and there was not great representation of Indigenous people. So the policies given then ended up being transactional. They talk about art and culture as sort of as a community character item and as an economic commodity that the city includes in its economic development planning but leaves the role of Indigenous people in the community to culture and art throughout the document. Ms. Dechter believes this was not the intent when the community began working on it.
Equity and inclusion must have a real commitment. The commitment would be to slow down and check in when not meeting objectives and goals of creating a very inclusive process, also where people feel the document belongs to the community. We all need to work with City Council and the Board of Supervisors to create some clear expectations. What is the promise to the public when they come to a meeting or when they participate? Ms. Dechter stated, the road map is very general at this point, and there is a lot of room for improvement and feedback. We are at Phase One. In the next phase, starting late summer early fall, there will be more classical planning activities, visioning meetings, writing goals, and creating a process where people come together and decide what should be in the plan or not, this is still a few months away. We will need to bring experts from the public together, check the work done in that Phase 2, then it will go through attorneys, advisory committees, and everyone will review the plan, then there will be a phase where City Council adopts it and sends it to voters.
Currently, for the Indigenous Commission, you are offered the opportunity to provide input on a digital whiteboard created by Ms. Dechter and to look at the current plan and think about how the important perspectives of the Indigenous community could be better served by this plan. Please provide feedback in May. Ms. Dechter will return for another discussion in June. Please read the current Regional Plan. Ms. Toehe will forward the information to the Commissioners.
The project team from Community Development will provide an overview of the current status of the Flagstaff Regional Plan. Jordan Hollinger, Mark Reavis, and Sara Dechter are the team members. The project team will go over the plan to engage the Commission to learn about the Regional Plan. They will cover a range of topics as an introductory, including the vision, goals, and policies, as well as areas where there are opportunities for robust Indigenous representation/input.
Ms. Sara Dechter, Comprehensive & Neighborhood Planning Manager from Community Development, shared a presentation about the Flagstaff Regional Plan. The city has started an important project which is to update the Flagstaff Regional Plan. Ms. Dechter stated, it was not just any old document but it is actually the only policy document, besides the City Charter, that is sent to voters in Flagstaff as required by state statute. It was last adopted in 2014 and every 10 years it is updated. The Regional Plan sits at the top of this hierarchy of planning documents. Commissions hear about plans, such as the carbon neutrality plans, water master plans, active transportation master plans, and the Southside plan & Plaza Vieja plan, these are examples of the many that fall under the umbrella of the Regional Plan. These are just more specific to subject and areas. From these more specific implementation are formed including zoning codes, engineering standards, and the capital improvement plans. So this document is very important to the community and during the budget process, these plans are taken into consideration and feeds into the general plan. The Regional Plan is adopted across two jurisdictions in Flagstaff. This is called a general plan, it is what the state statute calls it. It goes to the voters and ratified every 10 years and it supports several kinds of decisions. Most importantly planning for land use, 100 year water supply designation, transportation, etc., but it also serves as a guide for policymaking citywide; however, it is not a mandate against development or the same as the zoning ordinance. It is a document that evolves so it can and does change.
The public creating the last regional plan, called the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030, asked her team to make sure the document holds the government accountable for publicly derived policies and outcomes and that it guides fiscal and economic development priorities. The plan has done some of these things very well and some of them not so well, so there is plenty of room for improvement and growth in our community to have a document that serves everyone well and meets the community's vision. The Regional Plan is very extensive with 97 goals and 508 policies. There is no prioritization between them and it is one of the reasons it may not be as effective as it could be. For example, someone could put something forward as a proposal and there could be part of the plan that allows for it to go forward; however, in another part of the plan that could cause wait time or delays.
Ms. Dechter explained, when it comes to Indigenous people in our community, the plan has a very limited lens in looking at the community's relationship and there are only three (3) policies that discuss Indigenous people. It was pointed out that because the process took too long that many of the Indigenous participants left the process and didn't feel like there was a place for them at the table. So the efforts that were made early on regarding inclusion really fell apart and there was not great representation of Indigenous people. So the policies given then ended up being transactional. They talk about art and culture as sort of as a community character item and as an economic commodity that the city includes in its economic development planning but leaves the role of Indigenous people in the community to culture and art throughout the document. Ms. Dechter believes this was not the intent when the community began working on it.
Equity and inclusion must have a real commitment. The commitment would be to slow down and check in when not meeting objectives and goals of creating a very inclusive process, also where people feel the document belongs to the community. We all need to work with City Council and the Board of Supervisors to create some clear expectations. What is the promise to the public when they come to a meeting or when they participate? Ms. Dechter stated, the road map is very general at this point, and there is a lot of room for improvement and feedback. We are at Phase One. In the next phase, starting late summer early fall, there will be more classical planning activities, visioning meetings, writing goals, and creating a process where people come together and decide what should be in the plan or not, this is still a few months away. We will need to bring experts from the public together, check the work done in that Phase 2, then it will go through attorneys, advisory committees, and everyone will review the plan, then there will be a phase where City Council adopts it and sends it to voters.
Currently, for the Indigenous Commission, you are offered the opportunity to provide input on a digital whiteboard created by Ms. Dechter and to look at the current plan and think about how the important perspectives of the Indigenous community could be better served by this plan. Please provide feedback in May. Ms. Dechter will return for another discussion in June. Please read the current Regional Plan. Ms. Toehe will forward the information to the Commissioners.
7.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS TO/FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS, STAFF, AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS
None
None
8.
ADJOURNMENT
Co-chair Washington adjourned the meeting at 12:59 PM.
Co-chair Washington adjourned the meeting at 12:59 PM.