Commission Meeting Minutes August 27, 2024

Commissioners Present:
First District: Howard Sapper (Officer-at-Large), Maria Barakat
Second District: Andrew Lemarquand*, Sadie Ferguson
Third District: Isabel Lopez***, Liz Cruz Reyes
Fourth District: Trevor Merrell, Irmina Benson**, Cecilia Sofranko****
Fifth District: Nichole Warwick (Vice Chair), Nox Riley*****

Commissioners Absent:
Third District: Katrina Phillips (Chair)
Fifth District: Mason Koski

*Commissioner Lemarquand attended via Zoom per Gov’t. Code Section 54953(b) at this location:1094 Petaluma Blvd S, Petaluma, CA 94952.
**Commissioner Benson arrived late at approximately 5:34pm and attended via Zoom perAB2449 excuse.
***Commissioner Lopez arrived late at approximately 5:38pm
****Commissioner Sofranko arrived late at approximately 5:36pm
*****Commissioner Riley arrived late at approximately 5:41pm

Meeting held virtually and in person.

I.CALL TO ORDER – MISSION STATEMENT – ROLL CALL – PHILLIPS
Meeting called to order by Vice Chair Warwick at 5:30PM. Vice Chair Warwick read themission statement.

II.KATHLEEN FINIGAN AWARD
The 2nd annual Kathleen Finigan Award went to Kathy King with Sonoma Overnight Support(S.O.S) for all her work in Sonoma and Sonoma Valley feeding the hungry. Her years offeeding the homeless goes back to 2003 when Sonoma Overnight Support (S.O.S) wasformed. Her kindness and dedication for Sonoma County residents goes unnoticed. Manykind words were shared as appreciation for her service to the community.
Public Comment:
•Heather Rawson

III.COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT– PHILLIPS
This month’s community spotlight was Derek Trowbridge, President of Russian RiverCommunity Cares. A nonprofit dedicated in preserving the health, safety, natural beauty, andprosperity of the Russian River Region, West Sonoma County. He presented on the Asphalt
Plant issue in West County, Canyon Rock. He shared concerns on existing compliance, prior litigations, accountability, flammable materials, health risks with odors, traffic hazards, the required nearby purchased lands that will cause re-zoning, threat scenic corridor, and potential decline in property values on homes and businesses nearby.

Public Comment:
•Heather Rawson
•Beth
•Mary
•Harriet
•Bob
•Heather
•Robert
•Sharon

IV.APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 25, 2024 MINUTES – PHILLIPS
No Discussion. Motion to approve the June 25, 2024 Minutes.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Ferguson Ayes: 9 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Barakat Absent: 2 Abstained: 2
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Commissioner Lopez abstained due to her absence on June 25, 2024. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

V.APPROVAL OF THE JULY 27, 2024 MINUTES – PHILLIPS
No Discussion. Motion to approve the July 27, 2024 Minutes.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Barakat Ayes: 9 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Merrell Absent: 2 Abstained: 2
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Commissioner Lopez abstained due to her absence on June 25, 2024. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

VI.OPENINGS & APPOINTMENTS – PHILLIPS
Vice Chair Warwick announced one (1) opening in the First District and one (1) in the SecondDistrict.

VII.PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS- PHILLIPS
No Public Comment.

VIII. OFFICER REPORTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES
Officers and Staff to discuss administrative-related matters including, but not limited to, field trip ideas and speaker coordination.

1. Commissioner Cruz Reyes announced a tabling opportunity at Rancho Cotati High on September 21 at 1pm-9pm for their Fiesta De Independencia and Car Show. She is seeking volunteers for different shifts. Commissioners Benson, Riley, and Lopez will volunteer for this event.

IX. REGULAR CALENDAR

1. The Commission discussed their 2024-2025 ad hocs and projects. They approved the following ad hoc work plans and budgets:

a) Housing and Homelessness Committee (HHC)
No discussion or changes on the work plan. Motion to approve the work plan as is with no budget.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Ferguson Ayes: 10 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Cruz Reyes Absent: 2 Abstained: 1
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

b) Racial Equity and Social Justice Framework Committee
They adjusted the training to be taken by all 15 Commissioners instead of just two Commissioners. Motion to approve the work plan.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Lopez Ayes: 10 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Sofranko Absent: 2 Abstained: 1
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

c) Youth Commission Project
They added a high school club component in their work plan along with their normal expenses. Recommendations were made on the school club component to better support the students when a situation arises at their campus as well as having standard materials on human rights for the students. The Racial Equity and Social Justice Framework Committee will work together with the Youth Commission to help with the handbook for the clubs and other materials. Motion to approve the work plan.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Barakat Ayes: 10 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Sapper Absent: 2 Abstained: 1
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

d) Sonoma County Human Rights Visibility Project
They presented their work plan and budget. They proposed to integrate Geolocation QR codes and build partnership with organizations- partnership with authorities. Some Commissioners opposed the use of Geolocation QR codes as it will not make the survey anonymous as it will disclose their location, where they complete the survey. They also felt that the partnership with authorities will create more problems with members of the public than to help them. The discussion led to postpone the approval of the work plan to next meeting to flush out the work plan. No action was taken.

e) Adult Prom Committee
No discussion nor changes on the work plan. The only recommendation was to have the Commission take the lead on where the ticket sales go to in the community. Motion to approve the work plan.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Sofranko Ayes: 10 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Barakat Absent: 2 Abstained: 1
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

f) Disability Justice Ad Hoc
They presented their work plan and there were concerns with two areas of the work plan. The first one concern was the use of “requirement for indoor masking.” The Commission can’t require people to mask, they can only recommend. The other concern was “create pamphlets of most crucial COVID-19 information.” The Commission must partner with the County Health Officer or Health Services Department for any COVID-19 information that gets created because this is not the Commission’s jurisdictions. Motion to approve the work plan with the modifications of inviting masking instead of requiring masking, to partner with Health Services Department or the Health Officer to create pamphlets, and have a public awareness campaign involving the public with the possibility policy proposal.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Barakat Ayes: 9 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Cruz Reyes Absent: 2 Abstained: 2
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Commissioner Lemarquand abstained. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

Budget discussion and approval were made for the 2024-2025 ad hocs. Each ad hoc modified their budgets from their proposed budget requests. Motion to approve the following budgets:
• Racial Equity and Social Justice Framework Committee- $2,610
• Youth Commission Project-$7,350
• Sonoma County Human Rights Visibility Project- $1,960
• Disability Justice- $1,500

No Public Comment

2. The Commission on the Status of Women invites the Commission to hear the League of Women Voters presentation on October 10, 2024 at 6pm and to co-sponsor the event.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Ferguson Ayes: 7 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Lopez Absent: 2 Abstained: 4
Chair Phillips and Commissioner Koski were absent. Commissioner Sofranko, Benson, and Lemarquand abstained. Vice Chair Warwick abstained per running the meeting. Motion passed.

X. ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING – PHILLIPS
No items were mentioned.

XI. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.