The meeting was called to order at 1:35 PM. 

Present	Absent
Carolyn Kidd, Chair Mandy Gebler, Vice Chair Sandra Darling Manny Hernandez Silina Martinez Angelica Sanchez	Mindy Riesenberg

Chairwoman Kidd read the mission statement and Commissioner Darling read the land acknowledgment. 

Commissioner Hernandez promoted the Downtown Business Alliance's upcoming stargazing event on Thursday, April 24 in Heritage Square. It will include constellation tours and food in partnership with the Dark Skies Coalition

Commissioner Martinez wanted to share that the Flagstaff Leadership Program will be hosting a program called "It Takes a Village" on April 10 which is the class project of the 2024/25 class. 

Chairwoman Kidd then shared that the Flagstaff Leadership Program will be accepting students for its new class. Chairwoman Kidd also wanted to take a moment to apologize to Commissioner Martinez for the awkward welcome she received last meeting and wanted to make sure that she is welcomed to the meeting. 

Kim Robinson from the Lived Black Experience wanted to promote a fundraising concert on Sunday 3/23 at 3:00 PM at the Sunyside Market featuring Trey Taylor.

Commissioner Sanchez moved to approve the minutes. Commissioner Hernandez seconded. The motion passed with a voice vote. 

Mr. Rhode shared that in April, the Commission should expect to review proclamations for Jewish Heritage Month and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Month. He asked the commission if they know of any community groups that it may be appropriate to partner with on either of these proclamations. Chairwoman Kidd said that she knows of several groups that may be interested in partnering on Jewish Heritage Month and that she would follow-up in an e-mail with their contact information. Councilwoman House suggested the Chabad Jewish Center. Chairwoman Kidd also recalled working with Mark Cox of the Boys and Girls Club on the proclamation for AANHPI Month. 

Cristen Crujido, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Project Manager with the City of Flagstaff was present to present an update on year 2 of the Multicultural County Public Art Sculpture Exhibition. She explained that the exhibition conducts outreach to artists locally and nationally and finalists are chosen by a panel consisting of representatives of several City and County Commissions. 

Ms. Crijido shared images of the newest art pieces that will be displayed this year. including Atl-Tlachinolli by Olivero Balcellls, Wings by Isaac Caruso, Celestial Juggler by Joe Ray, and Thunderstorm by Adrian Wall, Asdzaa Nadleehe by Lance Yazzie.

Ms. Crujido invited the Commissioners to attend the opening reception on May 19, 2025 at Liz Archuletta Park. She also invited CODA to select one person to serve on the selection panel, which will take place during the first week of August.  

Councilmember House thanked Ms. Crujido for the presentation and for engaging CODA. She praised the project for promoting diversity in the community and the work that has been done. 

Chairwoman Kidd said that she served on the panel in the past and appreciated the experience as it taught her a lot about local cultures and promoted diversity in the community. She thanked Ms. Crujido for the work done on the project. 

Mr. Rhode asked Ms. Crujido if their meeting next month (4/16) would be appropriate for selecting a representative and alternate. Ms. Crujido said that the timeline would be appropriate. 

Councilwoman House started this topic by sharing that there have been several executive orders from the federal executive branch that have targeted DEI efforts in educational institutions. She said that these orders have been stopped by federal courts thus far but that several institutions have begun rolling back programs as a result. She wanted to discuss how CODA and the City can support these programs in the community. 

Chairwoman Kidd shared that the FUSD governing board has received some of these letters but has decided to stand firm on supporting these programs.

Commissioner Sanchez asked about receiving an analysis from the City Attorney's Office on the topic. 

Mr. Rhode clarified that the City Attorney is able to give legal advice on a specific action or topic but since no specific recommendations have yet been made that is likely not appropriate until CODA gets to a point where it is considering a certain topic. 

Commissioner Hernandez recommended tabling this topic since there does not seem to be an immediate impact to City programs. Commissioner Sanchez and Martinez agreed. Commissioner Darling also agreed and said that she knows that there are many groups watching federal actions with ear and are grateful to live in Flagstaff. 

Commissioner Darling began by giving an update on the Rainbow Crosswalk Working Group. She shared that Commissioner Sanchez and her are active in the group and are planning on meeting every other week but had trouble engaging people at their first meeting. 

Commissioner Sanchez had no immediate update from the Library Working Group. 

Councilwoman House thanked Commissioner Darling for being present to accept the proclamation for Womens History Month. 
XXX

 

Mr. Rhode gave his Staff update on a conversation he had with the City's Library Staff in February. He started by reporting that the Library suggested that the Oral History Project be housed with the AZ Memory Project simply because it was a more conventional fit than the City/County Library. He then shared that the Library staff has not prevented the name change clinic from occurring but is marketing it more broadly than just to the transgender community and has seen greater attendance since making that change. The library also created a new form for staff to suggest new programs that the library could host. Additionally, the library has not canceled Dragtime Story Hour, the outside group simply has not sought to host it recently. The library staff also clarified that the library is willing to host any event conducted by an outside group so long as it is not for-profit and would not create a safety concern for library patrons. 

Commissioner Sanchez clarified that the Oral History Project was already set to move to the Memory Project but was glad to hear that the Library will continue to support the program. She also asked if the proposal for Dragtime Story hour was rejected because it cannot be conducted by City Staff. Mr. Rhode responded by saying that this would be consistent with what he was told and that his understanding is that a nonprofit group would be allowed to run that program again in the future. Commissioner Sanchez then asked about the Rainbow Reading Hour and whether it would still enable readings in other languages. Mr. Rhode reported that there have not been changes to that program and that readings in other languages would continue. 

Mr. Rhode finally explained that the Library has changed the way that it displays its calendar and has moved away from series of events and now lists all events together with tags that describe the event and who it is could apply to more inclusively. 

Mr. Rhode shared that there are a few staff presentations from the Sustainability team that will be brought to the commissioning in April. Chairwoman Kidd asked if the commission could get a presentation on transportation projects happening throughout the city like the 4th Street Roundabout. Mr. Rhode shared that these projects typically have a dedicated website with up-to-date information on them but hat he would reach out to the Transportation Staff to see what is possible on this front. 

The meeting was adjourned at 2:47 PM.