Tuesday, January 5, 2020
Open Board Meeting
Virtual Meeting via ZOOM
Minutes
Present: Ruthy Argumedo, Deborah Barmack, Peter Barmack, Carole Beswick, Mike Burrows, Rachelle Bussell, Mark Cloud, Ken Coate, Jennifer Cusack, Jack Dangermond, Michelle Decker, Kevin Dyerly, Louis Goodwin, Otis Greer, Milford Harrison, Fran Inman, Mark Kaenel, Carol Kim, Lowell King, Pam Langford, Mike Layne, Bill Lemann, Darcy McNaboe, John Mirau, Tomas Morales, Dan Murphy, Vikki Ostermann, Bansree Parikh, Steve PonTell, Catherine Pritchett, Thomas Rice, Michael Rivera, Dan Roberts, Elizabeth Romero, Dan Schenkel, Kristine Scott, Paul Shimoff, Phil Southard, Sol Teh, Pete Van Helden, Kim Wilcox, Ray Wolfe and Frank Zabaleta.
Guests: Julian Cuevas, LaDonna DiCamillo and Sheriff John McMahon.
Announcements: 1) Congratulations were expressed to Lowell King who has been named as the recipient of the Larry Sharp Inland Empire Leader of the Year. The prestigious award from the Inland Empire Economic Partnership will presented at a virtual meeting on January 14 at 4:00p.m. 2) Next week the Annual Report will be presented along with the 2021 Executive Committee Members and the proposed budget. Members will then break into their respective Committees for advocacy work.
Louis Goodwin, Chair, presiding.
Motion by T. Rice/Second by K. Scott/Passed: Minutes from December 15, 2020.
A second reading of the proposed membership of the Riverside Community College District (RCCD) was made. The first announcement was sent via e-mail to the membership on Monday December 1, 2020. Dr. Wolde-Ab Isaac, Chancellor will serve as their representative and Marisa Yeager, Director of Government Relations will serve as their alternate. To learn more about RCCD please use the link https://www.rccd.edu/Pages/index.aspx The membership will vote at the meeting next week.
Carole Beswick introduced Jack Dangermond, President & Founder, Esri. The Esri vision is that computer mapping and analysis can help design a better future. Esri originated in Redlands, CA and has over 350,000 customers served by 12,0000 employees globally of which 5,000 are in the U.S. Their annual revenues exceed $1.5B with customers that include the world’s largest cities and most national governments. They are the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS).
GIS is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes. GIS reveals deeper insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and situations helping users make smarter decisions.
One example of their work is the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (CRC) web site which is a continuously updated source of COVID-19 data. Using Esri software they aggregate and analyze available data on COVID-19 including cases, testing, contact tracing and vaccine efforts to help the public, policymakers and healthcare professionals worldwide respond to the pandemic.
Jack Dangermond is committed to the region and by choice lives in Redlands siting factors such as safety, educational opportunities, a sense of community and cultural/entertainment options.
Since the pandemic he sees great benefit of people working from home. He envisions a strong future for our region as an increasing number of people can now work wherever they choose to live. Investing in our communities is critical to keep and encourage residents which keep our cities strong and vital. We can make the Inland Empire a great place to live by providing affordable housing, assuring public safety, and beautifying our cities. Development opportunities that beautify areas like San Bernardino can help revitalize the city. He encourages community engagement at all levels and reminds us that even a small act can make a difference.
The world has shifted, and Cities need to provide digital connectivity as part of their infrastructure to get “smarter” and be able to see and respond in real time. This connectivity effects all aspects of life to achieve coordinated responses. Real-time status data and maps in a single, unified dashboard enable people to act with confidence in dynamically changing situations. Governments collect and manage vast amounts of data all tied to location. Maps and spatial analysis make sense of data so it’s easier to use. Data-driven decisions improve quality of life that is essential in national, state, and local governments in addition to busines.
The pandemic has also highlighted the “digital divide” that is affecting our students and the next generation. Rural, minority and impoverished communities are most heavily impacted and need to address infrastructure and access to the internet in addition to equipment access. Currently the FCC and Federal government have subsidies and grants available to assist needed investments but progress is slow.
The science of climate change is real, and cities must make investments to “de-carbonize” and plan with intention. He supports the “30 by 30” effort to conserve at least 30% of U.S. land and ocean by 2030 as part of an international push for conservation aiming to protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change impacts.
He expressed appreciation to Inland Action for continued community engagement and activism on behalf of our region.
A Q & A period followed
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m.