Inclusivity Opportunities on Boards & Commissions; Lenz
Administration
CITY OF HOPKINS
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: Ari Lenz, Assistant City Manager
Date: October 9, 2018
Subject: Inclusivity Opportunities on Boards & Commissions
_____________________________________________________________________
PURPOSE
Review proposed opportunities for increasing inclusivity on boards & commissions.
INFORMATION
Staff met with Mayor Cummings regarding suggestions she has from her participation in
the NLC Leaders Lab cohort on Creative an Inclusive Community. Recommendations
include:
Conduct a general promotion explaining the role of boards & commission in the
City.
Conduct an open house/informational night early on in the recruitment timeline
to allow more individuals to ask questions prior to applying.
Consider offering a stipend to board and commission members to remove a
barrier to participation. Assuming 12 meetings per year at $50 per meeting,
budget impact would be $7,200.
Establish mentor relationship for new board & commission members. Mayor
Cummings also suggested the potential for coffee reimbursement related to the
mentorship. Estimated budget impact at $250 - $500.
Establish an orientation program for new board & commission members.
Making a bigger effort to communicate about the City’s work in this area.
Suggestion included reaching out to Sabina with the Sun Sailor to see if she
would be interested in doing an interview.
Develop goals for the community and report about progress on the goals as part
of the State of the City.
FUTURE ACTION
Review the recommendations above and provide any additional recommendations and
give direction/feedback on whether Staff should pursue these areas of work.