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Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, Apri114, 2008 <br />Page 14 <br />Considerable discussion ensued focusing on the non-profit status of the center; <br />volunteer staffing; actual programming; and how that information is made avail- <br />able to the community's immigrant populations. <br />Councilmember Pust expressed interest in this program; and sought additional in- <br />formation on how people in Austin find out about the Welcome Center; physical <br />location of the Center, or whether a "virtual" (i.e., electronic) version would be <br />possible in Roseville. <br />Mayor Klausing expressed interest in the program as well, and sought additional <br />information on Hormel's corporate sponsorship of the Center, and what other <br />funding sources were utilized. Mayor Klausing observed that the City of Rose- <br />ville's motivation may be different, since a huge part of the City of Austin's <br />and/or Hormel's workforce may be non-English speaking; however, opined that <br />the lessons they'd learned and those things that could be taken away from the <br />program could be utilized by the City of Roseville as the community becomes <br />more diverse. Mayor Klausing further opined that the proposed ordinance on <br />immigration status was too indirect in making the community more welcoming; <br />however, he spoke in support of this type of initiative as a more direct method <br />having a larger community-wide impact. <br />Councilmember Ihlan suggested that, after a trip to Austin, the HRC come up <br />with a proposal for City Council consideration, to implement such a program in <br />Roseville; noting that there may be grant monies available from various founda- <br />tions to provide funding. <br />Mayor Klausing noted that the Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis may be under- <br />taking similar initiatives; and suggested that Commissioner Oftelie a-mail him for <br />his contact at the City of Minneapolis who works on such programs, and was a <br />Roseville resident. <br />Chair Delmore -Concluding Comments <br />Chair Delmore provided concluding comments; thanked City Manager Malinen <br />for providing base line training on diversity, harassment and customer service for <br />City employees; and advised that the HRC looked forward to working with City <br />staff, the community and school district. Chair Delmore invited City Council- <br />members to attend any of the HRC's meetings; and opined that it would be great <br />if their meetings were televised. <br />Mayor Klausing thanked Commissioners for their ongoing work, taking time for <br />tonight's meeting, and the discussion. <br />12. Business Items -Presentations Continued <br />c. Presentation regarding the Inflow/Infdtration Report <br />