Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Deiadvisoryboard Meeting Overview topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Norwood DEI advisory board seeks volunteers, plans Pride market and park projects
Summary
At a DEI advisory board meeting, members reviewed outreach and recruitment efforts, scheduled a Pride market for June, discussed Marsh Park and Norwood Mound preservation work and agreed to distribute "know your rights" cards and other community resources.
The Norwood DEI Advisory Board on an unspecified date reviewed recruitment needs, upcoming community events and several local preservation projects while planning outreach for immigrant and other resident communities.
The board’s presenter summarized membership gaps and outreach plans, saying the advisory panel “was first created in 2022” and that it currently includes two city council seats, two employee seats and three resident seats but that the board “currently have[s] 2 vacancies” among the employee positions and “1 vacancy” among resident seats. The presenter urged residents to sign up via a shared form or QR code and to volunteer for events.
The board flagged staffing rules as a recruitment constraint. Members discussed seeking flexibility from human resources and the law department to allow a city employee to serve on the board using flex time rather than paid overtime. One member said they would “talk to the law department about amending the resolution that created this” if needed.
Why it matters: the board’s events and projects rely on volunteers and community participation; vacancies on the advisory body limit capacity to run festivals, service days and park projects.
Most immediate plans and directions
- Pride market: Councilmember Sam Bowling is leading a Pride Market planned for Sunday, June 1, at Victory Park and Mills (the market near Off Pike). The board opened vendor signups and intends to distribute free pride flags to residents at the event.
- Outreach and recruitment: The presenter said they would post the recruitment form and QR code on city channels and asked board members to share the post. The board discussed reserving a community-center room or trying a different meeting location to make meetings less “stuffy” and more accessible.
- “Know your rights” cards and immigrant resources: The presenter described red “know your rights” pocket cards and said, “I’ll just order these now,” noting a minimum order quantity of about 250 and plans to distribute cards in English and Spanish at Spanish-language markets and other neighborhood sites. The presenter also provided the local immigration resource irlawcenter.org (Immigrant and Refugee Law Center) as a place for residents to find legal help.
Park projects and history
- Marsh Park: The board reviewed Marsh Park work already underway, including a historical-marker update, a daffodil-planting effort (about 1,700 bulbs were planted to commemorate 1,700 petition signatures from 1922) and plans for a small mural on a half basketball court. The presenter said grant funding of about $30,000 would be needed to resurface the court and fund a high-school-student mural project; the board plans to pursue grants and community fundraising.
- Norwood Mound: Board members said they continue work on a Norwood Mound historical-marker application and stressed the need for tribal consultation. They reported a nonprofit grant will pay for pre-removal invasive honeysuckle control and that park towers are scheduled for removal, likely next spring; the group discussed saving some panels for reuse and longer-term ideas such as a small observation deck or natural play area.
Other community programming
- Service and donation drives: The board noted four years of MLK service-day activities and recent blood drives. For Women’s History Month the board collected donations for Lydia’s House (transitional housing for women and children). The presenter encouraged residents to help with one-time event tasks or take vendor tables at the market.
Decisions, directions and next steps
No formal votes were recorded. The meeting produced operational directions and commitments: the presenter said they would order “know your rights” cards and draft social-media outreach, board members will pursue vendor outreach for Pride, staff will be asked about flexible scheduling or legal language to enable employee participation, and the board will continue work on Marsh Park and Norwood Mound marker applications. The next regular meeting was announced for Wednesday, June 4, after the Pride market.
Speakers and attributions in this account are drawn only from meeting remarks and include the presenter and board members who spoke during the session.
