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CC - ACTION ITEM: Adoption of a Resolution Expanding the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee to Include a Juneteenth Celebration and Approval of the Amended Committee Bylaws.
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Meeting Date: April 8, 2024
Contact Person/Dept: Adam Ferguson/Parks, Recreation, and Community Services
Phone Number: (310) 253-6685
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No []
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (04/03/2024)
Department Approval: Ted Stevens, PRCS Director (03/19/2024)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council adopt a resolution to expand the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee to include a Juneteenth Celebration and to approve the amended committee bylaws.
BACKGROUND
The Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK Jr.) Celebration Committee initially began as a small group of people who rented the picnic shelter at Veterans Memorial Park the weekend before the MLK Jr. holiday. They used Veterans Memorial Park as a place to remember his words and honor his legacy. With time, this celebration grew, and a committee was created to help plan the celebration. Since the celebration began at a park site, PRCS was assigned to oversee the committee and the event. The committee was structured similarly to other committees that at that time were not Council appointed bodies, such as the Fiesta La Ballona Committee and the Sister City Committee.
In 2019, the last active period for the volunteer committee, it consisted of five members and two alternates. Bylaws, mirroring the bylaws of the Fiesta La Ballona Committee, were created for the committee; however, the bylaws were never ratified because City Council recommended at that time to keep the committee a volunteer committee, rather than an official City committee.
Their involvement was as an advisory committee to staff . At the J...
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