Bangor committee explores language access plan, website enhancements

[0:00] Katie Brydon: We are live. All right, hello everyone, and welcome to the March meeting of the Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights. We will go ahead and get started tonight with introductions for those of us at the table. We have some folks online that we will introduce once we get to that part of our agenda. So I'll begin. My name is Katie Brighton and I'm the [0:27] Speaker B (unidentified): chair of the committee. Raylon Burke, member. Michael Black, member of City Council. Adam [0:35] Speaker C (unidentified): Baker, member. Susan Furrow, member. Emmy Nguyen, school representative, high school representative. Shane Boyd's, vice chair. Courtney O'Donnell, assistant city manager. [0:46] Katie Brydon: Wonderful, thank you all. We also have here, oh, there you are, Sharon, I didn't see you. I was just, I was having a little difficulty. Oh well, you made it, and you made it right on time for your introduction, so wonderful, thank you. We unfortunately have three of our members, Mark Roth, Katherine Robinson, and Teresa Fallon, all ill this evening, so it's definitely that at unfortunately time of year, but they will be missed, but they have been excused. So we will go ahead and choose, we also start every meeting with our public comment section, which allows for anyone that would be joining us either online or in person to share anything that they feel is necessary about the items on our agenda this evening. We open that up for about 15 minutes and ask that everyone just obviously stay on task and respectful. You don't see anyone here or online, so I'm going to assume there's no public comment. It's evening. Okay, seeing none, we will move forward with our first item of business, which is the approval of the minutes for last month's meeting, February 24th, 2026. Six, can I get a motion to approve? So thank you. A second, thank you. Any discussion, updates that need to be made, things that were missed in the notes? All right, oh, go ahead, chair. I did notice one thing, it said that somebody was there and also they were absent. It was Suzette Furrow, I believe. Sorry, Suzette, you were here, I apologize. Thanks for catching that, Sharon. No, thank you, that's where all the mistakes always are, always in the copying and pasting. of last meeting but thank you very much for that i appreciate it so pending that change before the minutes are archived let's take a vote since we have a motion and a second because we have someone a voting member on zoom we are going to do this by a roll call vote so red yes who's that yes Katie yes and Sharon yes wonderful thank you all right All right, so now we move on to our committee business. Is there something else that needs to be changed? Well, no, it's on mine. [3:43] Speaker C (unidentified): I'm not marked as not present. I'm marked as present. [3:47] Speaker D (unidentified): Oh, I don't know, maybe I just got it. [3:50] Katie Brydon: Your computer knew better. I don't know, we'll look into that. We'll make sure that is across the board. You are here, thank you. All right, so our first item of business this evening is our language access plan. So I know that I sent an email to Brian and he's shared it with Greg, but both Greg and Brian are with the Bangor School Department as part of the adult education and the new Mainers Resource Center. Something that our committee has been working on for some time has been identifying the need for a language access plan, what that might look like for our city, what departments and agencies would need to either translate other resources and documents, have something available, and then really understanding what the need is across Bangor is a big, obviously, piece of this. So what we're doing is actually helping the individuals in our community. So Courtney, our assistant city manager here, has done a poll with the staff, sort of an informal one-off poll. Corny, I don't know if it would be easier for you to sort of talk through what we have found, and maybe that could better inform Brian and Greg and the team there before they get started, and then, and then we can talk about language needs and resources and what that partnership might look like. Does that sound good? Yeah, I would just start by saying it's still [5:25] Speaker C (unidentified): preliminary. 60 responses is pretty good, but we do have more than 400 full-time employees, nearly over 600 including part-time, and so I'd like to get a bigger section, cross-section of employees, as well as be able to send some targeted surveys in certain areas depending on the responses. And so, yeah, I mean, I think that I was a little surprised myself the need is there. As the committee was asking at the last meeting, I first went to department heads just to kind of gauge, and the response was Resounding especially for police and public health in particular, but also fire code also saw a need as well. And so I developed a survey that was included in the packet and sent that out. As you said, we got more than 60 responses, and I think of those 60, I think somewhere around, it seemed like nearly 20 had fairly regular interactions with folks with limited English proficiency, and those interactions primarily occurred in person and then on the phone. And so in some of the tidbits in terms of like asking staff what they would like for resources. They were very interested in potentially receiving access to another employee that could provide direct translation at the moment, as well as forms and certain documentation translated into different languages. And then we also learned as well that a lot of folks are using various apps and things in an effort to help communicate with folks sort of on the fly, if you will. And so my impression overall is that a more formal plan giving a like sort of a streamlined set of services would be greatly appreciated, and it's just bearing down the specifics of [7:26] Katie Brydon: what that looks like. Thank you. Any questions for Courtney? All right, so Ryan, thank you so much for being here. Greg, thank you also for being here. I'd love to give you guys a chance to introduce yourselves and what you do as a part of the adult education piece, and then we can sort of talk more broad scope about what we're hoping to accomplish. And really, I think what we're hoping to accomplish is understanding what the needs are across Bangor at large. Do you want [8:03] Greg Levitt: me to go first? Yes, please, Greg. Thank you. My name is Greg Levitt. I'm the director of Bangor adult education, and I oversee our program. One of our components is English as a second language, English language acquisition, and we've seen in the past three years a pretty good uptick in the number of people requesting our services. We have a full-time teacher now. We have the last, oh, three years now, Nate Berger, who was invited, I think, tonight, but he actually has students he's working with tonight. Yeah, he couldn't make it but he was he would be a good one to talk to because of course he's right on the front lines but you know we 've we're up to i did some numbers year to date from july one we've had 114 of us 114 individuals seek our services since july one and on some of them we had to have we do have a rolling enrollment thing so anybody can come in at any time it's not you know a semester-based thing and some access our services just for a few hours and others are regular so we have quite the variety. And Brian, if he wants to chime in anytime, he is on our new maintenance resource center, which kind of goes hand in hand what we'll do. He's a coordinator there. But I hope that was good enough at the top, at the beginning, if you have any questions. No, that was great again. [9:36] Katie Brydon: I know it was the very last one to ask, so it's good to, thank you so much for having that data ready to share and that information. I really appreciate it, Greg. You're welcome. Brian, would you like to introduce yourself? I think he's frozen. I feel like this, and he's gone. We won't put you on the spot, Greg, don't worry. All right, well, I do feel bad that he's having some technical difficulties. But like you shared, Greg, Nate Berger, who is an educator and is actually teaching tonight, so he couldn't make it, did send an email over just about sort of what they are seeing at the adult education in terms of languages. So I just thought it would be helpful to share what he had said regarding the language needs. And then, O'Brien, you're back. Sorry. And I don't wanna lose you again, so I feel like I need to... [10:52] Speaker F (unidentified): Are you able to hear me okay? Yes. [10:56] Katie Brydon: Oh, wonderful. Okay, so- Just not very loudly. Hold on a second. That, I think, might be on our end. Hold on one moment. Sure. Now Courtney's the one sweating. Just like I do this all the time. [11:13] Speaker F (unidentified): What's up? All right, thank you. Wonderful. I'm sorry about that. It was, you know, classic, right at the moment when I was about to speak. Yeah, it wouldn't have happened any other way, right? Well, I'm sorry that I miss Greg, I missed some of what you shared, so I hope I don't kind of double up on anything here. But my name is Brian Loring. I work with the New Mainers Resource Center here in Bangor through adult education. And so primarily what my role is in the community is to support internationally trained professionals in the greater Bangor region to resume their careers and take steps towards education and workforce opportunities. And so I do that in collaboration with a team that is both in Lewiston and down in Portland. And so kind of the headquarters of our organization is down that way. But we have a regional office here in Bangor that's still relatively new, but an exciting part of things. So I get to work with Greg and team over there at adult education, which is fantastic. And so I oftentimes am working with, you know, bankers, nurses, electricians, educators, and we support folks with things like international transcript evaluations, licensing and credentialing, career planning, navigation towards educational opportunities in the region. And I actually got a chance to work with Raelynn when I was over at EMCC. DC. And so yeah. And I work there as the college and career specialist. So I've had a little bit of experience here in the in the city kind of bouncing between these institutions. And I'm excited to add anything I can hear tonight to the to the conversation. And at the meeting that where Katie and I met recently, we were just kind of talking about how it would be wonderful to kind of bring the adult education perspective into conversations at the city level and with the Board of Education and just various partners in the community. And so I believe Greg was sharing that right now the adult education program is seeing roughly 150 community members a year right now to receive English language instruction and that instruction is happening at all different levels. But I think it is, and Nate, who is not able to be here tonight is a fantastic educator and working with people at all levels of acquisition. And Greg, I don't know if you had shared at all about kind of what the evaluation process looks like with CASAS testing, or if people in the group are familiar with what that looks like. [14:09] Greg Levitt: I didn't I didn't do that Brian but okay yeah I just thought it might be [14:14] Speaker F (unidentified): Valuable, just you know I tried to read over what Katie had shared, and I know there's a lot of work going on at the city level to try to identify how to best support people. But I think one of the foundational things that I learned both through my role at the Community College and here with adult education is that the adult education system really functions at the state level as the primary resource for English language acquisition. And so that's true here in the Bangor region. It's not the only opportunity, but it's a central component of things. And statewide, I think that is represented throughout the adult education system. And so in Portland, it's a huge program. In Lewiston, it's a huge program. In Bangor, it's a little bit smaller, but then we also have outlying adult education programs in rural communities and all throughout the state that are providing english language acquisition support and using a casa system of testing that essentially allows instructors to get a sense of where the level is for a learner so that can be you know zero english to someone who is fairly proficient and looking to really improve on their skills but the reason i think that's important to mention is it's really a gateway way into a lot of workforce development opportunities and then also a means of measuring somebody's readiness for stepping into a college classroom and that type of thing and so i think that work at the adult education program here in bangor that greg and the team are doing is really you know it's an essential part of supporting immigrant communities and members of our community who are seeking to build their English language skills. They're also, of course, building math and all the other skills going towards high set and degree completion and that type of thing. But I think it's an important thing to recognize is happening in the community and is, I think, a really exciting part of what happens within the adult education system. The only other thing I'd like to mention to start is that it's also when thinking about like workforce development in the region and how multilingual learners can access different programs there's opportunities like cna training that require a certain casus level of training and then of course there's toefl and that type of assessment for university settings and so adult education is really playing a role in getting people prepared and so part of my role is navigating people to nate for english language support and then helping people whose language levels have reached the point of being able to branch out into some of these other opportunities to help them navigate their way into CNA programs. We've got people that have made their way into the nursing program at EMCC, folks that are on their way to degree completion programs at UMaine Orono, and I really think about the regional network of support between the Intensive English Institute at UMO and some of these other regional providers along with the main multicultural center. And there's really a network of support between adult education and some of the institutions here that are trying to meet the need for English language acquisition at a variety of levels, which is really has to be scaffolded from almost zero up to, you know, TOEFL level proficiency for someone stepping into a master's level program. So I think I can pause there to make sure that I touched on the things that are most of interest. And then if there's questions about the work or anything that I can add, I'd be happy to do so. [18:04] Katie Brydon: Yeah, that was so helpful. Thank you so much. I mean, if nothing else, I think just knowing what exists out there. I think that our, when our committee was founded, it was founded very closely with the Maine Multicultural Center and in that same vein. And so our committee works very closely with the Maine Multicultural Center, but it's not the only avenue and they're also very busy. So understanding what exists out there in terms of, I know you already shared Literacy Volunteers as a resource, but then also just noting these pieces that are offered at the University of Maine, that alone and this relationship I think is really beneficial to helping us understand how to make this language access plan work, right? So we've said there is a need, there's a broad need based on all of these different departments. There are individuals that, you know, really range in scope in terms of what their language needs are and what that might look like, and our job here is to sort of bridge those two pieces, how can we get somebody that is coming to register a vehicle or needing emergency support or whatever department they're working in, how can our city staff be prepared to help them in a way that's most manageable without it being like, now I'm talking to Google Translate and now you say it back, especially With like, you know, like your income taxes on the line and like there's so many heavy things that we're asking people could trust us with at the city level that we really need to be accessible and available. So I appreciate just this partnership and what that could look like. I think that we do have some questions for you and I'm hoping that maybe you might be able to guide us in terms of, yeah, what those resources look like, what those access points look like. I was just going to share before you hop back on that Nate did send an email with the most prevalent languages in the areas based on this, on the area based on the students that he's working with. He said the largest number of students are Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Then Haitian Creole, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda, Rwanda, which I believe is like a language spoken in the Congo, I think. [20:34] Speaker F (unidentified): Congo, Rwanda, and- Okay,, okay, wonderful. [20:39] Speaker C (unidentified): If I may, I probably should have mentioned that in the feedback from employees, the first language that was predominant in terms of the barriers, if you will, was Spanish, closely followed by Mandarin and French and then ASL or American Sign Language sure and then it's like a smattering from there in terms of Arabic Portuguese others oh [21:03] Katie Brydon: Interesting okay that's really helpful thank you thank you for that well I want to open it up to the folks in the room we've got obviously a bunch of individuals that come from many different areas of professional expertise and we have a city councillor here and so I wanted to open it up to questions that you all might have as we sort of start this conversation any questions for [21:37] Michael Beck: Go ahead mike well of course my question would be money related because earlier in the discussion we talked about you know someone with the employees the early preliminary feedback was you know hey we're great to have forms in multiple languages so as far as how does that translate late into time saved i would imagine it does and i don't expect it to be an answer but i guess just where my brain is thinking is not only does this help people but also you know how much time is lost in that Language barrier that would be picked up or saved to have those you know pre-loaded resources you know and again i don't expect to be an answer but just something to think about with this because that's important you know it's you know it's a great added benefit to doing this [22:23] Katie Brydon: Absolutely. Can I ask what is done at Bangor Adult Ed? I mean, obviously, you know, you have Nate, you have you, have staff that are there and helping, but are there resources that you typically use to sort of help expedite that process in terms of translation needs? [22:44] Greg Levitt: Nate could better answer that, but I believe we have used Google Translate and some of the others we mentioned just what we can get our hands on, you know, sure. [22:56] Speaker F (unidentified): Yeah, and you know it's it's an interesting thing. I've been working with kind of the multi multilingual population for a while in Maine, both in the Bangor area and in other areas of the state, and the technologies that are available and coming available all the time are really interesting. I actually brought this up with Nate earlier today because when I learned he wasn't going to be able to be here, I was just like, what do you think that all looks like? And there's even technologies, my understanding right now is real-time earpiece technologies for kind of as-it's-happening translation. We still use kind of like what I think of as maybe the early 2000s technology at times with the New Mainers Resource Center. We have a language line that I can call into. I have a code. So no matter the language that comes into my office I could get on the on the phone and that is a it's a similar technology that I used I worked in social services and so was do using that type of technology and that's incredibly helpful you put it you know a five-digit code and then you ask for the language of choice and then the next thing you know you have a native speaker of that language on the phone who is translating in real time for you so I've used that in different roles over the Years and it's certainly effective. But one of the things that may be valuable to this conversation that Nate brought up today is just that I saw in some of your literature ideas of signage and kind of like, and what Nate was saying is it's of course a very important thing. And I would imagine there's like legal elements to like what gets up and what doesn't and whatnot. But I think the reality of the world that we live in And the community that I think we're really blessed to live in, Greg shared something earlier today where we're talking about folks from just in the last year, Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Syria, Thailand, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe. And so I think in a world where a smaller city like ours has that incredible scope of international representation, there's a limit to what posters can do, too, because you can't get all the languages on there, right? Right. And so I think. That's something that he, you know, shared with me that I believe he would be comfortable with me sharing in this meeting is that people that he works with, they are using their phones, they are using technology all the time to help them translate if they have something in front of them. So I think it's not as simple as just saying, oh, we're going to print this out in Spanish. But is there a QR code? Is there other means of kind of tapping into technology that can just streamline a process for somebody who shows up at a window and, you know, maybe a city employee recognizes that there is a language barrier there? Can they direct them to, you know, almost everybody is pretty familiar with the QR code at this point. And could they pop something onto their phone? You know, I just I am no technology expert. So I want to be clear about that. That's not kind of where I am. But I think that 's one of the jumps that's that seems to be happening at the broader level. And that with some research, there might be some exciting opportunities there that wouldn't just be the strictly visual representation, Presentation like up on a wall somewhere, but a little bit of a different kind of interactive opportunity [26:38] Katie Brydon: That's a really good point, thank you so much for sharing that because that is what our original conversation began with like thinking about when you're at the doctors and you sort of look next to it when you're like checking out. You know, it's like do you need this language this language this language this language and that would be so lovely, right? Right, but then it is having to set that all up, having to pay for those services, having to have them available. We don't even know the number of individuals that might need that. And to your point, how do we ensure that we're actually being equitable in this space by being able to offer all of those elements? So it is interesting. I'll just share from our perspective at a school level. You know, we often see teachers and, you know, resource providers using Google Translate. And while I want to say that we're investing in other, you know, resources because we want people to feel safe and invested in and valued, it is expensive, and it is, those services are working to a point. So I think for us, the hard work is going to be understanding when there is, you know, either the legal need or the, this sort of, you know, heavier need in terms of making sure we don't get this wrong, you know, the areas versus maybe just saying, like, where can I talk to a clerk, you know, and helping to translate those types of conversation where folks might come in. So I'm interested to hear that. Yeah, you're using that language line, because we also have a member who is unable to make it tonight, but she worked at the hospital, and she said that's what they also use, which was really curious to us in terms of what that might look like and what that availability is. Thank you very much for sharing that. Other questions that might have popped up, I'm curious, outside of just translation, and this is something that, you know, in the group that Brian and I are in, we talk a lot about just like, outside of translation, there might be other barriers that residents face, space, whether that be like cultural understanding, cultural competency, any of that stuff. Are there areas that you see often in your work outside of language translation, like, yeah, that cultural piece, trust, digital access, finances, do you see a lot of that? And if so, do the resources that you provide differ? [29:26] Speaker F (unidentified): Yeah, I mean, I'm sorry, Greg, I'm happy to jump in on this for a moment. You know, I think one of the things that I see in my role is certainly that folks who are new to the US and new to, you know, financial literacy when it comes to accessing education. So FAFSA is one component of it, scholarships is another component of it, all of these different layers of kind of accessing additional training and opportunities, that I think that is a place that it can be very easy for people to get confused. FAME, I imagine folks may have heard of, is a wonderful partner here statewide that can provide a lot of resources and support to new manners. So I, you know, and I think in my role, navigating into those systems, a huge piece of it can be explaining, you know, loans versus grants versus scholarships and the timing of semesters, you know, just, you know, those things for families that are making big decisions about their future and how to kind of proceed, those types of things can be really important. And a technology piece is there for some people. And like I said, I'm no technology whiz. So some people that I'm working with are way, beyond my skill set. Yeah, it's a broad spectrum. Spectrum. So like, but I, but I think having an ability to try to assess that in some way that would be appropriate at a department level or at a, you know, a place that seems like an acute area of need, because for folks that don't have skills or are building skills and it's one of the great things that I think Greg and the adult education system does as well as literacy for computers. The library is doing programs to build digital literacy for elders, things like that. And so I think those types of supports and making sure that when people interact with someone in the moment that they know, oh, hey, there is this opportunity through adult education or through the library for someone to get a little bit more comfortable on their phone or on their computer to navigate them towards things. And in the education sector, one of the most important things for freshmen at EMCC was just familiarity with the systems that they're going to be, you know, so many international students are using, taking remote classes. Many of them feel like it is a little bit more approachable to have an asynchronous model of education. And so there's, you know, navigating something like Bright Space and again, that's another thing that adult education does really well. There's a great program that's being offered down in the Ellsworth area right now that Nate has been referring folks to that he's connected to, helping to get people ready for college success and being able to turn in papers and understand where to find their syllabus and that type of thing. And so I think those opportunities for education around technology are really valuable. Yeah, is that program and Ellsworth is that [32:55] Katie Brydon: Bright Space or is Bright Space something different? Bright Space is one [32:59] Speaker F (unidentified): of the learning modules that folks use and so yeah and so I'm sorry I yeah there's so many all the lingo of every area but that is yeah you know and some and that's true for multilingual learners and learners of all types when they arrive into the college classroom and are accessing those types of things. But I could imagine how that need would be replicated across city services as things are increasingly online and just those types of dual authentication and all those types of things that can interrupt something like paying your taxes or like whatever it might be. [33:46] Katie Brydon: Yes, absolutely. Thank you for that. I had another question. I don't want to like, okay. All right. My other question for you is, do you often see, and this could be either like personally or just in your office in general, do you notice either through conversations or questions you get areas in the city where a lot of new Mainers are needing more support? And it might not be like, oh, I need this translated. It might be to what you were just talking about. I don't understand that I'm supposed to do this or that this requirement is here. I mean, all I can think about is like car registration in Maine is so much different [34:28] Speaker C (unidentified): than any other place I've ever lived. [34:30] Katie Brydon: So are you seeing like a high increase in certain areas where we might be able to help by maybe tackling that, you know, as a priority, if that's a question you're often running into? [34:46] Greg Levitt: I haven't noticed anything, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. But if I could mention one thing that just popped into my head, we do have a software called NGEN that lots of our students use, and that is specific to certain health occupations, and it provides contextual vocabulary to them related to their whatever occupation. Patient. I mean, a lot of them are healthcare, but so that's something else that we have that [35:18] Katie Brydon: can you can you spell that for me? [Greg Levitt: This ENGEN.] Okay, awesome. Thank you very much. That's great. Thank you for that. These are all really helpful. He says, Brian, did you? Do you have any ideas of questions you often get at a city level? [35:43] Speaker F (unidentified): Yeah, well I'm really glad that Greg mentioned NGEN because that's certainly a tool and that is also like if we're thinking regionally, you know, NGEN is tied to adult education programs around the state and so it's an opportunity that's available to if, you know, city staff are finding themselves connected to people because we're a regional hub like who are we're living in outlying areas, that 's something that can be, there's licenses available through adult education that allow that to be an opportunity. And one of the cool things that NGEN also offers is along with kind of language acquisition curriculum, they do have a live class component. And so people can tap into different types of opportunities through that platform. Thank you, Greg, for mentioning that. I guess in terms of your question about other specific spaces, I don't know that there's something that's jumping to mind beyond, I think, a navigation for healthcare and navigation for education, I think in our other space that we were meeting and Katie, the other committee, talking about how can we make the things that are complicated for all of us more easily accessible as far as information when it comes to, you know, I think we were talking about individualized learning plans, but I think that type of thinking across city services and community services could be, could be valuable as well, and with technology shifting like there, yeah, are there opportunities for people to be able to hit a button that says that's their language of choice and then have resources related to that particular area then immediately translated. I haven't seen that yet, but in my conversation with Nate, I kind of got excited today just about where that all might be headed. And I'm sure there's some great models out there to learn from. Amazing. [38:00] Katie Brydon: I know I promised you both we wouldn't take a lot of your time, so keep that promise, I just want to before we let you go confirm sort of the groups that you either work with or know have expertise in this area, and you had said, you know, UMO has, you know, the extensive language program, literacy volunteers, the main multicultural center, obviously you guys are a great resource, thank you so much, is there anyone else or any other group that you think might be [38:31] Speaker F (unidentified): Be helpful to connect with as we explore this. I certainly think fame they have some programming around financial literacy in all elements of life and then specific to education as well. And so I think they're a tremendous resource. And then you know there's some statewide groups that I imagine would be valuable and maybe it would be worth it for me to reach out and see if I can gather some information that might be of interest and send it your way. But I think when I you know adult education not just in the team in Bangor but thinking about adult education is kind of like a network of providers around the state that are really doing so much for the English language and so much of to that frontline work that colleagues in Ellsworth have a lot to offer, Bar Harbor. I get to work a little bit more regionally because of my role. And so I think there's ways to lean into those programs in a regional sense as well. And then I think of a space like Penquist as, you know, and oh, and now I'm blanking on it, EMDC. Yeah. Yeah. As kind of, you know, some of the career center workforce development, because those folks are working with people with a wide variety of backgrounds and have developed their own pathways to providing support. And so I think they can be valuable as well. [40:15] Katie Brydon: Yeah. Yeah, we're basically like, how can we best support the city, not in recreating the wheel, but sort of pulling together these elements that already exist. So you guys are definitely doing the heavy lifting, sharing all of this with us and making it so much easier. So thank you so much for your time and your expertise. I really appreciate it. This was so helpful. [40:38] Speaker F (unidentified): Thank you truly. All right, thanks everybody. Appreciate the time. [40:42] Katie Brydon: Yeah, thanks Brian. Thanks Greg. Yeah. I feel like we have a lot more to look into now in terms of all of these different programs and people that are in the area. I do think we all tend to have that same go-to group, so being able to expand our options and recognize what exists out there is going to be really helpful. Courtney, can I ask in terms of the feedback that was gathered and the needs, which you obviously have the languages here listed and I really appreciate it, do you think I think our next question with this you know work is how do we tackle this effectively we asked the need is there we asked the resources exist without you know putting it on staff members and taking more time or giving any of us you know another part-time job like what is it that we can do that's most effective to actually help with this do you have a vision based on your conversations with department heads like oh my gosh the fire department is so desperate for this if we could figure this out that would be helpful I don't know if you got any of that sense or if that's a direction that you would want to go in but I'm curious is your thoughts I know based off [42:08] Speaker C (unidentified): of the survey results I am kind of curious like it is of those 60 it was maybe a quarter that reported with any regularities speaking with folks where they would need translation services so I'm kind of curious like what types of interactions those are and the other department I forgot to mention was the airport they also run into folks that need those sorts of services and so I think it's very different right like the sort of interaction that you see at the airport versus here at city hall right and so I think any sort of plan we put in place I think thinking about the resources and what to make readily available to individuals may look different depending on the area and the need it is kind of nice and that as Brian mentioned like we're not going to be able to translate everything into every language but like the overwhelming responses Spanish is the number one language that would be most helpful maybe we start there yeah and some of our more basic you know interactions and resources that are needed as a result of those interactions if we're able to kind of figure hone in on those and how to help those folks better communicate in those circumstances I think would be really helpful so I don't know too if it might be helpful if I circulated there was a draft LAP plan in the packet it seems like a pretty good starting point I could also solicit some feedback on that as well and go back in for like that another push of additional responses to a survey and maybe try to Flush out some more details in terms of what interactions are occurring that, because again, like an interaction at a counter is going to be different to like a police officer in the community, for example. Yeah and so I don't want to be overly specific but at the same time I want to be helpful to the employees and the citizens that need the [44:10] Katie Brydon: services. Yeah and did you get the sense and maybe not and so maybe we don't know the answer to this question but you know do police to your point the people that are interacting at the most high stress out points of a person's life do the police or the fire department have access to the you know a language line or something that might be more easily accessible yeah as I mentioned it [44:41] Speaker C (unidentified): seems so folks are relying on like Google Translate and whatnot or the other thing is often individuals have a person with them that can translate but of course my concern would be is what sort of information are you having to rely through you know yeah that would be my concern too or a third-party app and you know so i think that's definitely worth digging into more but i'm with you don't want to really recreate the wheel and certainly if we try to do everything it would take a ton of resources without a doubt so it would be nice if we could start in the areas that need it most and figure out what solutions may work best and then expand from there definitely because i really [45:27] Katie Brydon: really, I think that the questions that you asked were actually really helpful in terms of identifying what the needs are, but also what would be helpful. We don't have to, like Brian said, have a whole page of different languages available. Knowing that people want access to quick language translation services, knowing now that we have all of these other resources like if EMDC and fame already have translated documents I can help people with financial you know literacy and help people with the development of you know what it is that they're looking for we don't we absolutely don't need to recreate the wheel but maybe we could say okay here at you know in City Hall these are the questions that we often get and these are the resources that exist you know in our community that are being more specific that could help benefit. Did anybody get a sense? I don't know if anybody has looked this up. I know Katie had said that they use the language line at the hospital, but does anybody have a sense of what that costs? [46:35] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah. I remember correctly, she mentioned that it was like a, there was a cost per minute or something. So, which is kind of nice because if we implemented something like that we can see how much we're actually using it probably starting yeah small amount yeah of [46:52] Katie Brydon: resources and then like where is it most right that would be really curious and for me you know like obviously i know that you only sorry sharon i 'm sorry but sorry [47:11] Speaker C (unidentified): oh [47:14] Speaker B (unidentified): you only i believe that you only pay for language line [47:17] Katie Brydon: when you use it. Okay. That is awesome. [47:24] Speaker H (unidentified): I just Googled it and it looks like it is a pay per minute price, $3.95 per minute for audio interpreting in 240 plus different languages, $4.95 a minute for video interpreting in 40 plus top languages. languages or build only for the minutes that you use and there are no monthly minimums or [47:47] Katie Brydon: commitments apparently good job language line do they have ASL an option for video well let's see I would assume yes I believe so and I definitely you know want to also include you know other every piece that individuals are going to need. Yeah. [48:09] Speaker I (unidentified): I just wanted to give that sentiment that a lot of people forget about ASL a lot of the time. And I think that's prevalent to the community as well. Yeah, it is. [48:19] Katie Brydon: Absolutely. Because I'm just thinking in terms of when we think about trainings, and resources, and materials that different departments might need. We've talked about it in this group some. It's definitely prevalent in my work, like making sure that people who are emergency responders have training when dealing with folks that have disabilities you know that's obviously a huge wide scope right so like understanding what that cultural competency might look like when you are addressing someone in a very high stress situation and you know the understanding what their disability might bring up in that space I'm just I know that we have talked about that with the police department in the past like years ago but it makes me wonder like you know what kind of trainings in terms of like if you are entering a situation where it you know stress is high needs are high safety is a priority here's what you should know for cultural competency for the individuals that you're most likely to encounter in big whereas we welcome new Mainers I just I don't know if any of that's happening or if it would be helpful to know that it is and how we might be able to support that sorry oh yeah I'm sorry I also saw your hand [49:42] Michael Beck: And I will come back to you just a question. So the thing I'd be curious to know for the for the ones especially folks working at the counters who use Google Translate, what does that experience look like? Does it end up being you know a 15-20 minute excursion with a lot of green news and all? I didn't say that in corrections because this is where my thought process is going. If it's 3.95 a minute and you know rather than taking you know 20 minutes on google translate when it really could have been a five seven minute conversation on the phone, that extra money not only is it helpful to the individual with the language barrier but also that a benefit to everyone else who's waiting to get up for that window because it just every extra minute you spend with barriers that adds up to more people waiting. So really in a sense it's a benefit to everyone who comes and uses services here because it makes everything more efficient. Yeah that's a really [50:38] Katie Brydon: that's a really good point and yeah i did really appreciate that you have in here you know that the majority of folks are taking five ten minutes or difficult to estimate very significantly like there's you know we have what is that like 65% of people taking at the very least five minutes you know and that's gonna it really I mean believe me when you're waiting in the hallway five minutes can feel like a long time so I definitely see some value that's just like thank you they do [51:13] Speaker H (unidentified): do have ASL as one of the video services and they also apparently have a specific language service for public safety in addition to like they've got the standard service but they also have this one which apparently language line itself was created by a police officer to solve issues of dangerous misunderstandings due to language barriers and so they've kind of branch this out now. They provide 911 trained interpreters in 240-plus spoken languages, 24-7 video interpreting for emergency situations. They even offer on-site interpreters for interviews if there's an ongoing investigation. And they train and certify bilingual staff in 50-plus languages for public safety protocols so that if we need a quick, you know. Yeah. So just saying, language line. Very beneficial. That is really beneficial. And it also says, you know, I don't know how I feel about the AI thing, but they are piloting an automated interpreter currently, which would be more cost effective because obviously you're not paying a person for their [52:26] Katie Brydon: time. Right,. I just feel like there's so many heavy, like things you can't get wrong in Oh my God, I accidentally told that person I didn't have to pay taxes or, you know, I know that 's not going to happen because their status is brilliant and trustworthy, but this is what keeps me up at night. [52:46] Speaker I (unidentified): Just one quick note. I just want to personally for me avoid any AI for like any of these kind of services because I think morally AI is bad for just for me and just like I think it can muddy the waters sometimes even more so I see it pros it's pros and cons sure well I would [53:08] Michael Beck: also add it also kind of puts us back in square one with Google trains like right yeah if [53:14] Katie Brydon: we're going to be paying money I mean I personally would like to know that it's been vetted and isn't like a piloted bot that's a good point that's a good point okay so in terms of next steps then Courtney you will return to flesh out some of those pieces to get more [53:35] Speaker C (unidentified): information yes and I can also touch base in public safety on some of your questions and I'm definitely going to look into language line and get some feedback from department heads on that as well because maybe actually I like that you mentioned the word piloting because maybe it's worth actually doing a little pilot to let some officers see you know if it's working or not because back to counselor Beck's point is you know what's what are the interactions what's happening you know whether that's at a counter in person and is that quick responsive accurate you know yeah cut down an interaction that otherwise would be 15 minutes to just a feud everyone walks away happy and stop frustrated like things like that so I'll definitely come back with yeah that's [54:29] Katie Brydon: really helpful thank you so much you're doing that yeah anything else before we move on all right so our next item of business oh is just a committee status update we put this on the agenda because as we discussed last time you know we're still in this waiting pattern of the city council having thought of you know what the actual ordinance for this committee looks like and how we might be better building a relationship with counselors so that the work that we're providing is seen as beneficial And effective, I know that a conversation about our committee was on the agenda last night during the city council in terms of statements that were made about the chair having the unilateral ability to disband a committee that was found obviously to be not true. And there were also statements made about, you know, as the chair of this committee having agreed that we need to reevaluate what this committee looks like. I just want to make it very clear on record that not only did we not have that conversation, but it does go against the very ethos of our committee to be making decisions in a vacuum outside of a very transparent, equitable, inclusive, communicative way. And so I want to share that with you all and promise to you all that no decisions will be made about this committee without your knowledge. College. The council chair has asked to meet with me and I welcome the opportunity to meet with her to talk about what we can do as a committee to best work together, to best partner in a way that supports the council at large, that best helps all of our goals and priorities be met. But I also want you to all rest assured that no decision will be made and no promises or conversations will happen without full transparency and the agreement of this group, as is sort of, again, in line with the work that we do. So I just want to keep you updated on that and hopefully by next month, we will have a new status update in terms of, yeah, if we, how we're going to continue, because like I said, we have had many different iterations of this committee in our time, but definitely finding a path in which we can really help support the goals and needs of Bangorians in a way that feels really effective and beneficial to the council is something that we're all working towards and we just need to work towards it together. Any questions? Thank you. And now our committee website review and enhancements. So Courtney did include a memo about what this might mean. Also, Sharon, I know that you have an appointment. Oh, I beat you to raising your hands again. So proud of myself for remembering. And so you will have to jump off. Thank you so much for being on this evening. I really appreciate your insight. Good luck. All right, so we wanted to take some time to look at the website. We've talked about this website. This is like our new language access plan. I keep punting, but we're not going to do that. We're going to think constructively about what we can do with this website. So as Courtney so graciously pulled up, thank you, Courtney, there is a website for the Racial Equity Inclusion and Human Rights Advisory Committee. Right now it just kind of has our, obviously our minutes, our agenda, there's not a ton of information on there. As part of one of the many iterations of this work, we have said 1,000 times, oh my god, we should host events, or we should do community outreach, or we should be educating folks and fully recognizing that time is tight, months fly by, everyone here is busy. So what can we do effectively to share some of the things that we think are important, that we think is really would be helpful and beneficial to the sort of larger community and how might we be able to use this page to share some of that information. So we put some ideas together and I definitely want this to be a really sort of like brainstorm conversational piece of today's agenda but like just even thinking about all of those things that Brian and Greg shared of like, hey, did you know FAME has all of these digital literacy resources about financial literacy in these different languages? That's cool. If we could be sort of a hub of information sharing, resource sharing, so that when people come to our page, it's not just, oh, here are the minutes for the meeting, but like, wow, there's so much happening in Bangor that is welcoming to new Mainers that is valuable for every citizen to know that is more inclusive than we all might think on our own little vacuums should we be using this page to drive that conversation I mean in a perfect world I envision us like writing blogs about like to your point last month Suzette about it being Irish Heritage Month like what does that mean what's happening in the month of March like it would be really cool if we all had these elements of like, this is really important to my community, my work, I'm going to share some resources and information. I would love to hear what you all think in terms of like being able to use this website in a way that provides more information and isn't just like this hour and a half that we have together once a month and no one knows our committee exists or what we do or, you know, we're just spinning our wheels and talking about non-issues like we're here to make it better to live in Bangor for everyone and so we all do that every single day in our lives like wouldn't it be great to be able to share that with people outside of our own silos so I'd love I'd love your thoughts or any ideas that you have or yeah how might you use this website or why did this website being used yeah [1:01:21] Speaker B (unidentified): I don't know first [1:01:23] Speaker I (unidentified): One idea I've found or I thought of for this and possibly just like other like committees or like whatnot is just having like right on the page, like just a brief summary of like what happened, like each like meeting, basically like, hey, this is what happened, like this meeting and then that meeting and then whatnot. I think that's like a very like quick like information thing like, hey, here's in the loop with the here's what happened kind of thing. [1:01:49] Katie Brydon: Yes I love that because actually I also thought of I thought of you Mike I think you do a good job of like capturing what happens at city council meetings very quickly and in real time and so and I always really appreciate it being like oh I missed it [1:02:04] Speaker B (unidentified): hasn't been real time lately people are waiting Michael [1:02:11] Katie Brydon: but no I agree to that point like I think that people do want to know yeah what's What's happening? What are we? That's a great idea. So I'm glad you brought that up, Adam. Thank you. [1:02:22] Speaker H (unidentified): It would be nice if we could use that space to include like a, like a suggestions bot or whatever, you know, like a little box where people can type in like, right, like, here's something that I would like to see the committee work on or here's a thought I have in general about the committee. and obviously that would require that we actually pay attention to anything that comes into that because we are all volunteers and so just I think it would be nice for folks to have a spot where they can come in and like sure they can probably find our emails somewhere sure in the ether but like that's just a really accessible spot to go like you're on this page you're learning [1:03:07] Katie Brydon: About it and then you're like, oh, I have a suggestion. Done, totally like Jason's email that, you know, he was like, oh, I would like to see a recommendation made for the housing committee. He would email Mike, emails me, I'm emailing you. Like, that would be a really great space just to have that captured for other folks that have, you know, either their own recommendations or have you guys talked to council? Is this something that you're taking on? That's a great idea too. [1:03:38] Michael Beck: Go ahead. I just said I got my designer hat on, but while I'm not doing council, I design websites. I guess it comes down to all of the resources. [1:03:46] Greg Levitt: Mike is doing it, you guys. Mike is going to take the website off. [1:03:50] Michael Beck: It comes down to how many resources you're going to want to put on this page. For example, look at public health. All of the knowledge and things they share, they couldn't contain it to one page. They've got their own website. I'm not suggesting that there would be their own website, but I'm just thinking in terms of do you set up this page almost like a link tree where you get in there and there's just all the buttons all the things you can do like you're right away hey here's the navigation I mean are you looking for information looking for recaps of meetings or you know how to contact the committee you know cuz you know that 's that's what it comes down to how many reasons you're gonna put because I don't know if you can organize a single page because how do you then navigate back to that front page to get to something else. Yeah. I don't think about that. That's Courtney's job. [1:04:41] Speaker C (unidentified): That's also not to be like, you know, the downer I guess, but the other issue too is how do you decide what resources are going on there, because historically the city has said no to outside third-party websites because it's a slippery slope and then before you know it, like our page has kind of been taken over by others. So usually unless we have like sponsored an event or have a close partnership with an agency or something like that, we, at least on the main city website anyway, have said no. So there would need to be like parameters around like what that would look like. Just so everybody was on the same page about expectations and what's allowed, what's not and things like that. Because ultimately Our city website is a government website so we have First Amendment considerations and so it's hard to pick and choose when you start picking and [1:05:33] Michael Beck: Choosing. Yeah, and also getting back to the navigation piece too, on our website when we click on links there's like a trail at the top that shows you where you are, what category you're in, so you could click the button at the top to get right back to that front page too, so that would alleviate that problem of the navigation, so you wouldn't have to have an ongoing navigation bar. Yes, I hear the [1:05:57] Katie Brydon: words that you're saying, they're going in my head. Also something else to consider too is that the [1:06:06] Michael Beck: search function on the city's website is really decent, you know, so they are looking for something specific they can just type in a few words and it will come back and give them the right links they need, so I guess maybe I jump, haven't begun by trying to put the bugging in with your about the perfect navigation, search function may make it user friendly enough, just get the information up there and you know organize the best you can, but you know [1:06:32] Speaker B (unidentified): we're all spells search is there to save the day. Yeah, thank you. So I think [1:06:40] Katie Brydon: that like again for our group it's been, and maybe I'm projecting, but I get this sense that people have like areas of interest they feel really passionate and excited about, and when I was thinking about this I was thinking about, I was on this committee at one of my jobs and every like coming up in the month we would say oh March is you know Irish Heritage Month or you know February Black History Month, so what we would do is in the committee that I was on we would say, oh, I really care about that. I'm going to write up a little piece about what this means and what happens during this month and why it's celebrated and what resources exist in the world. And I don't know if people would be interested in being able to channel some of the really great things that you're all doing in your own lives that are really important to you that help Bangor be the amazing city that it is, by taking turns to really say like oh you know I am, before the April meeting I'm gonna put together like a paragraph or two about this thing that I really care about that happens in May and I'll share it with you all at the April meeting and we'll say like oh that seems Cool, like, yeah, we should absolutely have that on there. I personally like love this idea. Is, do we have the bandwidth, interest, you know, is that something that we also think might be helpful? But I don't know, I was just thinking, you know, March is, you know, also Disability Awareness Month. The 21st was Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Like, there's a lot of great people doing amazing things in the world, and especially in Bangor, a lot of great resources of like, you know, this, these resources exist, and I would just love for us to be a place where people can go like, hey, I want to get involved in that committee, or hey, I'm a new parent and I'd like to find a community that supports this, or I'm new to the area and I'd also like to find a group that be able to connect with what exists there. And is that something, like something that might be interesting? Did that sound like, that it's just another one of our ideas? I dig it, I like it, yeah. [1:08:57] Speaker D (unidentified): Yeah, sort of bloggy, like you mentioned, yeah, pertains to what we're doing. [1:09:03] Speaker H (unidentified): And in our community, I like the idea, hear me out, we vlog it and put it on Tick Tock. [1:09:11] Katie Brydon: The cheers for that, and then Mike can make you buttons for it. Yeah, I love it. I have no idea how that would go down, but it would be awesome, it would be fun. [1:09:27] Speaker H (unidentified): You know, I bet we would be really good on Tech Talk, but yeah, I actually would love this for you. [1:09:31] Katie Brydon: You too. Maybe we should start a page. You guys should do like the Watch What Happens Live. [1:09:38] Speaker C (unidentified): City Council edition. [1:09:42] Speaker H (unidentified): You know, I used to have a radio show when I was an undergrad. [1:09:45] Katie Brydon: No, I can see. Raise your hand if you're surprised. W-U-M-H. [1:09:50] Speaker D (unidentified): Radio personality. Oh yeah. [1:09:52] Katie Brydon: Yeah, I do like that idea. Yeah, so I guess in terms of how we would sort of move forward with this. I do feel like even though, hey, guys, congrats on missing three people and still making forum. Nice. I'm so proud of us. We finally did it. We have a full house. I do think, obviously, having Katherine and Teresa and Sharon and Mark weigh in on this as well might help bring some new ideas to the table. But maybe what I can do before our next meeting, a sort of outline, okay, this is what we might be able to do. I love the idea of a quick recap, I love, yeah, if we might be able to identify turns, maybe next meeting if everybody could come with like, these are the things that I think are important for the city of Vancouver to know, that would really be helpful, and then the suggestion inquiry box. So I think that, you know, looking at like a, this is what happened, connect with the committee, and then, you know. What's what's happening this month? I think that would be just a really great like way to have this page be more than just we meet once a month and talk about things. It's like we're actively trying to pull together a place where somebody can go to the city website and maybe it is like I just moved here and I know nothing about you know a community that I'm looking to join. Oh look I found it on this group's website that's able to point me in the direction of like other committees that [1:11:25] Speaker B (unidentified): or communities that exist under doing things would it also just a suggestion but you know [1:11:33] Michael Beck: the social media team put out some great content for the city you know you celebrate certain events and you know here's some grant deadlines and things would it behoove you or this committee to invite them to the table and see is there any way to also get some help in promoting [1:11:47] Speaker B (unidentified): your information and themes that as they come up so we say hey we've got two tick tock stars [1:11:54] Katie Brydon: I'm not kidding. That would love to have a spot on your Instagram page. Yeah. Yes. What do you think, Courtney? You know, the social media team. Do you think that would be... [1:12:08] Speaker C (unidentified): It's basically myself and Dave Warren. [Speaker B (unidentified): I love it.] It's much of the kudos belonging to David. [1:12:20] Katie Brydon: Dang. I did not know he had that skill. They are fun they're really like simple easy to read right engaging yep yeah that was actually [1:12:31] Speaker C (unidentified): that came out of council priorities a couple years ago two three years ago where we really kind of tried to step that up and I think it's been fairly successful but we do not have a tick tock [1:12:45] Speaker H (unidentified): yeah or do I really want oh come on tick tock I'd be really curious though what David thinks [1:12:53] Katie Brydon: about tick tock I would too I would love his opinion right are you gonna send me back to [1:12:59] Michael Beck: council and ask council what they think about it 26 9 10 tick-tocking in the house [1:13:08] Katie Brydon: that's our priority okay I know you got a lot on your agenda but the city's tick tock page [1:13:18] Speaker C (unidentified): we're all about accessibility [1:13:21] Katie Brydon: all right well then you're invited to the next meeting to share with us more yeah I think that this could definitely obviously like grow into something really great but like again I don't want to like just project my own things but being on that committee and being able to say like a month beforehand hey this is what's coming up for the month like this would be really great I don't know and I again I don't want to take over the social media but I do think that if Bangor were able to say like Hey, you know, February's Black History Month. Here's a link to what that means, like, and something that, like, somebody with our, you know, in our community and our expertise is able to, like, write a quick couple paragraphs about what that means. It seems like it would be able to just create some more robust elements around some of the things that we're offering so that, yeah, you see your, you see something that's familiar and comfortable when you go online and where you go to the city website, I think. That's a real part of the [1:14:26] Speaker C (unidentified): inclusion work. Another piece of that too could be when the council takes, like, you know, just proclamations or recognitions and things like that, highlighting that as well. That would be awesome. [1:14:37] Speaker B (unidentified): Yeah, because I know you guys do a lot of that great stuff. Another consideration too when it [1:14:44] Michael Beck: gets into generating content from the committee, how it is, and maybe it's a question for the city solicitors, does there need to be a disclaimer on the site too, just to make sure, you know, because one of the big things, corporate voice, you know, when we don't, yeah, that's true, make sure we're not putting content out there that, you know, necessarily the council endorses directly or not. [1:15:04] Speaker D (unidentified): Right, if we did build out, like, resources on that page, how would Courtney, how would we get the parameters of what could be put on the page regarding resources? [1:15:23] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah, I mean, I think some things I'll know, and if I don't, I would need to consult with the city solicitor. Cool. Yeah. Good question. Because it's all gonna depend on where you guys land [1:15:38] Speaker I (unidentified): with a lot of that stuff. Okay. [1:15:42] Speaker C (unidentified): And not to brag or anything, by direct access to the website, so I know we've got it all right here, we have like that media. Back to what Shane was saying though, like, in terms of that, like, suggestion box, like, it would be pretty easy to set that up in a way that whatever came through automatically was added through our office to the agenda with, you know, to make first included in the monthly packet [1:16:08] Katie Brydon: at the very least. That was like something you could, yeah, that's awesome, easy peasy. Yeah, I [1:16:15] Speaker H (unidentified): just found the University of Colorado Springs runs a social and cultural awareness date data bank, basically, and it has, like, for every month of the year, all kinds of different awareness dates, month themes, like, specific days across all different types of diversity. Like, there's like, they break it down even by, like, veteran and US Armed Forces awareness days, general awareness days, cultural, all kinds of things. So maybe it would be helpful if we're gonna think about like what we might want to contribute to this page. Yeah. Maybe I won't send it out to everyone, because that would be a meeting, but maybe if Courtney would be willing to email this to all of us, then at least maybe we can all look at the list before the next meeting and see if anything jumps out at us to say like, Oh, that sounds interesting. Because there's stuff on this list that I'm like, I didn't know that exists. And that's really cool that it exists. [1:17:20] Speaker I (unidentified): So I'd like to resource to so yeah. [1:17:26] Speaker H (unidentified): A lot of good stuff up here. [1:17:29] Katie Brydon: Yeah, because I know that in the calendar that we have and that we built out that probably needs to be revisited and fleshed out a little bit more, that was just from the Northern Light. And so we had a member at that time who worked at Northern Light and they just sort of funneled that information to us. So that's also limited in scope in terms of looking at it from like a really global perspective and what the priorities are so I'm definitely looking at more options to really beef up that calendar as well would be really helpful. [1:18:04] Speaker C (unidentified): Thanks I think these are all really good ideas but the resources the inquiry box. [1:18:11] Speaker D (unidentified): The hoping the minutes I had all the same ideas written down and then some other basic stuff, maybe posting like just pictures of the members and maybe like an event section once we do get around to hosting our next event and or maybe just a calendar that would include our upcoming events, but also those holidays. Yeah, specific. Yeah. So then people could come if they want. Yep. A little calendar. [1:18:43] Katie Brydon: I love that. That would be really helpful to have a calendar on there. [1:18:47] Speaker H (unidentified): And did I hear you say glamour shots for all members yes a little bio oh yeah yes. [1:18:56] Katie Brydon: That would be really great because I do think that like yeah just being able to also I mean sort of know what you're you know who's here what are what our interests are but then also understanding like where there are major gaps and you know you might be a citizen in the city and seeing a major gap and saying like oh I would love to fill that gap that would also be really. [1:19:22] Speaker C (unidentified): Helpful in terms of our continued growth cool. [1:19:26] Katie Brydon: Thanks guys I'm excited to continue working on this and look Mike we actually saved you time today for your counselor liaison updates. [1:19:39] Michael Beck: Sure, so since we, since this committee met last, there's been three city council meetings, just because there was one that was rescheduled because of weather, so just fall that way, yep. And so, well, I'll start with the big news. Last night the council has officially established a standing committee on homelessness. So it's gonna be a nine member, well, nine voting member committee. Their initial charge is to create a data-driven strategic plan to the city's response to homelessness, and with the formation of it, is not coded into the ordinance, but it's a goal of the, you know, council verbally said that we're going to try or shoot for 30 percent with lived experience, but really that comes down to who applies, yeah. So you know, it's going to be helpful to just, once we have an application process established, that hasn't established yet, it's just, you know, helping get the word out that increases the chance for [1:20:41] Speaker B (unidentified): folks with experience, you know. Absolutely right, something we could help with, and yeah, definitely [1:20:48] Katie Brydon: want to be able to help with that's a committee, yeah. And so, yeah, so none of that's been discussed [1:20:52] Michael Beck: how to set that up or anything, but that'll, what I understand, will be the next part is great news [1:20:57] Speaker B (unidentified): creating the application process. Can I ask another question? I don't know if you're about [1:21:02] Katie Brydon: to say this, so if I remember correctly, it's the standing committee on homelessness and then a [1:21:08] Michael Beck: housing committee as well, yeah. So that'll be the first gov ops meeting in April, we'll begin to discuss that, so it's decided to separate housing from homelessness. Got it, okay, great, thank you. So regarding, there was an ordinance regarding ICE that was proposed, that's went through first reading, that's now been delayed twice, so the next time that'll come up is April 13th. In the meantime, the council did pass an order directing the city manager to have staff immediately comply with LD 1971. And part of that order was also to do written procedure for staff when law enforcement interacting with law enforcement, so that's within the city major's purview now, but the key piece of that ordinances, or order rather, is being, we're now complied with all the 1971 Republic health and community support grants [1:22:04] Katie Brydon: Can you, I know that it was postponed because, you know, there are some elements of the, if I'm using ordinance or result incorrectly, forgive me, elements of the ordinance that need to be updated, could you just like quickly, like off the top of your head, name like where they, what needs to be changed in order to have that reviewed [1:22:30] Michael Beck: Again, by the legal had some concerns they were supposed to executive session so I can't really get into the details. As it stood it was not recommended because of the challenges it created. So it will need to be amended. Which full disclosure, I mean, it's my ordinance. I'm going to be the one to present said amendments. So that would be, again, April 13th. [1:23:02] Katie Brydon: Okay. I mean, we're also very familiar with what the solicitor says to the ordinance about ways, just based on our own work with the solicitor and working to get an ordinance [1:23:13] Michael Beck: Throughout that so sure yeah you know I mean the concerns I mean that's that's the solicitor's job to protect the city they see things that are racist concerns and then certainly has to bring those up so I appreciated the thorough feedback on the ordinance thank you for public health and community support grants so there was a subcontract with the Together Place Peer Recovery Center for fifty thousand dollars for an overdose part of the overdose response pilot the grant that we already get so that's good that work continues the public health decided not to apply for a standalone 500 000 hiv grant that council originally gave permission for because the main cdc is going to apply for it 's my understanding that the city will be doing a lot of support for this main cdc's application but there will be some supplemental hiv funding coming our way because we were the city was contacted by the main general medical Center which intends to direct existing HIV client funding to Bangor to [1:24:16] Speaker B (unidentified): Supplement the work we're currently doing. Okay, so Maine General is gonna give Bangor money for HIV... Oh, our case management services that we're currently providing. [1:24:30] Katie Brydon: Okay, and is the idea that it's a letter of support to the Maine CDC will help [1:24:37] Michael Beck: Funnel some of those funds back sorry so I guess we I mean some of those all connected so it's two it'll be two separate things so originally council had given permission for that application for 500 000. Right me and CDC says hey we're going to apply for that so the what is [1:24:56] Katie Brydon: the expectation that the main city does people support bangor that i can't answer that i don't [1:25:00] Michael Beck: Know how that piece will connect. I just know that, you know, it's a statewide, you know, they'll apply the funds statewide. So I'm assuming, you know, they've worked with us before. I'm assuming, I'm assuming, but I don't know for sure. But the part I'm excited about is, you know, we have, you know, more funding opportunity coming through this meeting. Yeah, no, that's great news. Yeah, so, you know, we certainly put that money to work. One of the issues raised during the meeting was regarding the opioid settlement funds that were given that purpose. That hasn't been decided to, you know, whether, you know, do we use this to extend the program or do we, you know, use that, you know, send that funding back for, you know, to the recovery community, figure out another use for it. That has not been decided, you know, so there'll be follow-up information coming on that. No decisions have been made other than it was raised. Right, okay, yep. So there's been a creation of a human resource director position. So there's a, yeah, so that we appropriate the month council and I'm gonna read this from the executive summary. Removing human resources and labor relations from the assistant city manager role will allow the assistant city manager [1:26:11] Speaker B (unidentified): important technology problems right here, public outreach and communications, and process [1:26:20] Michael Beck: improvement, which will result in increased efficiency, cost savings, and [1:26:23] Katie Brydon: better customer service. So transportation accessibility improvements, [1:26:38] Michael Beck: so council accepted over three hundred twenty thousand dollars for the main Department of Transportation to fund an electric ADA accessible van, bike racks, rex, and a new mobile fare technology for the community connector. So that's that. And then last night, as you probably already heard, the rux parks and rec bond was voted down unanimously. So I don't have a timeline for when conversations will continue about that, but I believe the consensus around the table was that we do want to have further conversations. I don't think anyone on council said we don't need new buildings, just the sticker shock, and that's understandable. And then last but not least, there was another set of allocations from the opioid settlement funds. So big thanks to the opioid settlement fund advisory committee who worked for months to, you know, vet all of this, but 641,297 in funds to 16 organizations. I've got the list here, I don't know if you want me to go over it or do you think that, you know, just knowing there were 16 was good enough for now? Yeah, definitely. Yeah, that's great. But that is available online. You can see, I forget what you mean it was, but the entire list has been put online with a great synopsis of what each organization will be doing, but that's great. [1:28:01] Speaker I (unidentified): Great, did Wabanaki get anything? Or I remember, I remember briefly hearing those talks, but did they? [1:28:08] Michael Beck: what happened with that situation again so what happened was when this slate was first presented to us wabanaki was on the list and bengal republic health was not the committee had voted and it was three to two i believe they say hey because we already gave public health money earlier you know we don't want to give more money we want to give another organization a chance and that's when wabanaki moved up the list and that's what they presented to us the council made the decision just because bingo public health is the sixth highest ranked grant application and again speaking for myself as someone who voted you know in favor of the switch if the idea was hey you know bengal public health already got money you know so we can't give them any more wabanaki also received money for neil cleanup earlier as well so it just didn't for me it didn't sit right that you know we're using that justification to ding one and then to bring someone else in who's in the same situation so council you know voted in to in favor of making a substitution of bengal public health instead of wabanaki and then of course wabanaki would be more welcome to apply should there be future a future grant program or have you know application process that's where that's where that landed thank you is the [1:29:35] Katie Brydon: MGH money allocated to Bangor Public Health or is it going to like the city at large? It's my [1:29:43] Michael Beck: understanding it's going to Bangor Public Health. It's for, it's here, it's for a per diem nurse practitioner because they're creating that one-stop shop that's at located at Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness. Okay, and so all told the city, you know, will be receiving another, I'm gonna say about 2.1 million dollars through the year 2038. So that'll be a future conversations we'll have to have about what to do with the mobile phones or how to [1:30:14] Katie Brydon: best invest them. And sorry, can, did you say that the MGH money was had like a line item for a nurse practitioner? Is that so that money that's coming in isn't just like, here's for Big Republic Health, it's like, this is for you to hire that purpose? Yeah, oh okay, I was like, this is like hand over fist and like how are we going to figure out what paying [1:30:36] Michael Beck: Where public health does with it, but yeah, nope, that's gonna be for that purpose. And yeah, it's, you know, the one-stop shop that they're putting together. I mean, they're pulling together a lot of opportunities for it, so I'm looking forward to hearing more about it and see how it turns out, because it does sound like a very promising program to be able to come in and, you know, do the exchange, get checked up, you know, get your treatments, and looking forward to hearing [1:31:04] Katie Brydon: know how it turns out. Likewise, I know we've been so good on time and I don't want to take more. I just quickly want to acknowledge that also at last night's meeting, lots of folks spoke about there being a border patrol office that has some nefarious aspects to it at 99 Farm Road, being, you know, a blueprint that might, that appears to have detention center handcuff bars. There's explosives being built out in Bangor while that, I based on what I was watching, was news to the council, and no decision has been made. Can we at least continue to be informed as an organization that has been actively working to create safety for citizens when it comes to ICE presence in Bangor, and how we might support the council or help in figuring this out? Because right now it just seems like there's a lot of questions and not a lot of information, and I don't expect that, you know, the Bangor City Council is going to go, you know, being detectives themselves, but if there are ways that we could be, you know, looped in help support provide anything that we can do i just wanted to acknowledge that information has been shared that's happening it's something that I think is important to all of us and you know I can just speak for myself it's important to me to understand what is happening in Bangor and how you know we might be able to support just let the transparency of information yeah I mean I would just say you know [1:32:40] Michael Beck: if I hear anything more as far as what the council is doing anything with it, I'll totally bring that back forward. But as of right now, nothing's been said, hey, let's have a meeting or like that. It's just everyone, you know, I'll admit, I'd be personally having an inquiry to the city manager wanting to know more information, and I'm sure other counselors have, but nothing official to say, hey, we're going to have this on our agenda, but I will certainly keep you posted. Thank you. [1:33:09] Katie Brydon: You any other questions, comments, concerns? Okay, well then, and I saw a quorum, right? So let add, without any further ado, can I get a motion to adjourn? Second. Great. And we're no one's online, so we can just vote adjourned. Great.