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Council approves friendship letter of intent with Jaslo, Poland; exchanges and cultural programs planned
Summary
Sedona’s Sister Cities program won council approval to pursue a friendship agreement with Jaslo, Poland, moving the relationship forward with planned cultural, science and wine exchanges; council clarified LOI language and council counsel said the document is nonbinding.
The Sedona City Council on July 14 voted to approve a letter of intent to pursue a friendship agreement with Jaslo, Poland, as a midstep toward a formal sister‑city designation. The council’s vote was unanimous.
Chuck Moore, chair of the Sedona Sister Cities Association, presented the board’s work developing ties with Jaslo, describing a reciprocal program of cultural exchanges, a wine festival collaboration, and student and science center interactions. Moore said a Sedona photography exhibit will be displayed in Jaslo during the Polish town’s National Wine Festival, and Jaslo will display a photography exhibit in Sedona during Jaslo’s 650th anniversary celebration in September.
Moore and other Sister Cities volunteers described recent exchanges: a delegation visit to Jaslo in August prior to the LOI, a showing of the Jaslo‑produced film Raised to the Ground at Sedona’s Mary D. Fisher Theatre, and a planned science‑education exchange between Sedona’s Science Vortex and Jaslo’s GENS Science Center. Moore said Jaslo is a town of roughly 35,000 people located about 50 miles from the Ukrainian border and that its cultural center, library and 300‑seat theater are active hubs for local programming.
City attorney Kurt told council the document under consideration is a nonbinding letter of intent and said he was comfortable with the LOI being prepared in both Polish and English for this stage of relationship building. Several councilors said they supported the LOI as a one‑year period to test exchanges before returning for a formal sister‑city designation.
Ending Councilors instructed Sister Cities volunteers and staff to proceed with the exchanges and to return in about a year for a formal sister‑city designation if both cities agree the relationship is productive.
