Kent\u2019s growing diverse population will have a better way to connect and become more involved with city government under a plan adopted by the City Council.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Council members approved on Tuesday night the formation of a Cultural Communities Board composed of 18 city residents, including two youth members, to be appointed by April or May by the mayor and approved by the council. The board is expected to start meeting in May or June.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Kent is at a juncture where we can either embrace the diversity that has come to our community and be a role model for other cities or we can fall victim to the implicit bias, discrimination and cultural hatred that is sadly emerging in this country,\u201d said City Councilmember Deborah Ranniger at the council\u2019s Parks and Human Services Committee meeting last month.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mayor Suzette Cooke proposed the new board in part to replace a diversity advisory board formed many years ago that later became part of her advisory team but then kind of faded away.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last six years there\u2019s been so much energy in trying to understand our new residents and their needs with a mass of newness coming to Kent,\u201d Cooke said at the human services meeting.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Cooke suggested the plan for one-year terms in an effort to get a board that will be ready to bring ideas to the council and mayor.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is much bigger and its mission is more strongly formatted \u2013 one-year terms \u2013 that\u2019s to be certain people we appoint truly can bring suggestions and are willing to be part of a larger group and offer ideas for discussion and that they are representative of their culture,\u201d Cooke said. \u201cSometimes we don\u2019t know that until we are into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Dinah Wilson, a coordinator with the city\u2019s Housing and Human Services Department, said the board\u2019s goals include increasing the diverse community\u2019s access to city government, to become more engaged with city policy decisions and to serve as a liaison between the cultural communities and the city.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Wilson said people come here from countries where maybe the country was hostile and people are not allowed to engage with the government; English might not be their first language; they don\u2019t understand the process of how to take an issue before the City Council; they don\u2019t know how go about changing things; or even know how government works.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to reach out to other people making sure we not only listen to those who know the city but those who are hesitant to come to the city to express themselves,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Councilman Dennis Higgins looks forward to what the new board can accomplish.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the diversity of our community \u2013 it\u2019s one of the good things about Kent,\u201d Higgins said. \u201cBut it\u2019s also a challenge because we need to make sure we are engaging with the whole community. I\u2019m happy to see this change being made.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Residents will have a chance to apply for the board.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
City staff plans to reach out to specific cultural communities as well as notifications through the city\u2019s website and social media sites.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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