Commission on Diverse Cultures minutes of April 13, 2022

MINUTES
COMMISSION ON DIVERSE CULTURES
5850 W. GLENDALE AVE.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301
APRIL 13, 2022
6:30 P.M.
 
           
   
1.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m. by Brittany Leslie, Staff Liaison.
 
 
2.
ROLL CALL
Present: 
Nellie Andrade, Commissioner   
Ashor Chamoun, Commissioner   
Martha Dennis, Commissioner   
James Smith, Commissioner   
Reka Vicsacsan, Commissioner   
Also Present: Brittany Leslie, Staff Liaison
3.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
None
 
4.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES 
Commission on Diverse Cultures Minutes of March 9, 2022.
a.
  
 
 
A motion was made by Commissioner James Smith, seconded by Commissioner Martha
Dennis to approve the March 9, 2022 Commission on Diverse Cultures meeting minutes. 
 
AYE: Commissioner Nellie Andrade 
 
Commissioner Ashor Chamoun 
 
Commissioner Martha Dennis 
 
Commissioner James Smith 
 
Commissioner Reka Vicsacsan 
Passed

5.
NEW BUSINESS
1. DISCUSSION: Commission Recommendation and Submission Process
Ms. Leslie indicated this agenda item would provide clarity on submitting the Commission’s
recommendations to Council.  She said the Commission was initially told that every
recommendation must go to the Government Services Committee (GSC), who would discuss
and approve the recommendation and then it would go to Council.  The Commission requested
the reason for the process and if all other Commissions were following the same process.  She
indicated the Commission felt the process was time constraining and not in the favor of the
Commission when proposing recommendations. 
Ms. Leslie said, yesterday, the City Attorney took the bylaws to Council workshop to discuss
how the Council wants to move forward with Commissions when there are subcommittees in
the Commission.  She said the GSC process was also discussed.  She noted this item will be
kept on the agenda moving forward pending Council’s direction on the recommendation
process.
Chair Andrade stressed the need to clarity on the process and appreciated the efforts of Ms.
Leslie.
2. DISCUSSION: Follow up on Commissions at different surrounding cities.         
    
Ms. Leslie shared findings from her research on surrounding cities, which included the
following information:
There are no Human Relations Commissions or a Commission on Diverse Cultures with
that specific title.
She has found a lot of Arts Commissions, which Glendale has as well. 
She is trying to determine what each commission in surrounding cities does and will give
a presentation to this Commission.  She will also research events that other cities have
done.
Chair Andrade suggested collaborating with the Glendale Arts Commission, to possibly join
forces on an event which meets the needs of both Commissions. 
 
Ms. Leslie said a representative from the Inclusion Network was invited to speak to this
Commission, but the presentation was canceled.  She will re-invite the representative back to a
Commission meeting.  She will also reach out to the Arts Commission staff liaison and invite
her to a Commission meeting. 
 
6.
STAFF REPORTS
 
Ms. Leslie announced she sent an email to the Commissioners regarding an upcoming storm
water plan management workshop hosted by the Water Services Department.She encouraged
Commissioners to take the survey and to share the information with other community
members.She relayed the details for the Council workshop and encouraged the Commissions
to attend or watch the workshop live.

7.
COMMISSION COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Chair Andrade recommended a Glendale Founder’s Day.  She said other valley cities have a
Founder’s Day.  She said many years ago, Glendale had a Watermelon Festival, because
Glendale was known for growing watermelon.  She said bring an event of this nature to
Glendale could instill pride and belonging to the citizens of Glendale. She said a subcommittee
could be established to research this idea.
 
Chair Andrade said that Commissioner Vicsacsan had previously mentioned a multi-cultural
festival, which she would like to research.  She suggested it be held at Murphy Park and she
recommended the use of a subcommittee for this item as well.  
 
Chair Andrade suggested FAFSA (Federal Application for Student Aid) event, noting that
FAFSA benefits marginalized students and other students.  She said the event would focus on
assisting marginalized students, who may not have internet access or not understand the
language.  She knows a group who provides volunteers to assist students with the FAFSA
process. She recommended setting up a subcommittee now as an event would need to be
held before the end of the year. 
 
Chair Andrade asked if the Commission was allowed to use GoogleDocs for sharing
information on projects the Commission was working on.   Ms. Leslie believed it was not
allowed in order to avoid any violations with Open Meeting Law, however, she will reconfirm. 
 
Commissioner Vicsacsan liked the idea of the Founder’s event and the FAFSA event ideas. 
She works for Grand Canyon University and knows the students do experience issues with the
FAFSA.  She volunteered to assist with the subcommittee. 
 
Commissioner Dennis commented on the Watermelon Festival.  She said she is a native of
Glendale and she lived next to the man who grew the watermelons.  She commented on the
various cultural festivals that used to be held in the park downtown.  She relayed she is a
Board member of the Glendale Historical Society, which was hosting an upcoming celebration.
 She indicated the Historical Society would be interested in any type of Founder’s Day event. 
 
Ms. Leslie said the Watermelon Festival is important to Glendale as it was held for so long. 
She commented that bringing it back would be wonderful, especially for the natives. 
 
Commissioner Smith asked for additional information on the Historical Society celebration. 
Commissioner Dennis believed it was a fifty-year celebration, however, will have to confirm the
details.  She stated the Historical Society also tried to revive an event from the past called the
Town Picnic, held at Manastee Ranch, however, the event was not well attended.
 
Commissioner Smith asked Commissioner Dennis to see if she could obtain a list of all of the
events Glendale used to have in the past.  Commissioner Dennis will follow up. 
 
Commissioner Smith commented on a world tour theme for a multi-cultural event.  He
suggested hosting the event at Heroes Park, since it is one of the newer parks in the City.  He
suggested hosting festivals at different locations around the City. 
 
 
8.
NEXT MEETING
The next regular meeting of the Commission on Diverse Cultures will be held on May 11, 2022
at 6:00 p.m.,

9.
ADJOURNMENT
  
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:52 p.m.
 
 
A motion was made by Commissioner James Smith, seconded by Commissioner Reka
Vicsacsan to adjourn the meeting. 
 
AYE: Commissioner Nellie Andrade 
 
Commissioner Ashor Chamoun 
 
Commissioner Martha Dennis 
 
Commissioner James Smith 
 
Commissioner Reka Vicsacsan 
Passed 
 
 
The Commission on Diverse Cultures meeting minutes of April 13, 2022 were submitted
and approved this ___ day of ________, 2024.
____________________________________
Recording Secretary